Chairholders
Profile
Alexandra Protopopova
Faculty of Land and Food Systems
The University of British Columbia
Chair title
NSERC/BC SPCA Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare
Chair program
Industrial Research Chairs program
Role
Associate Chairholder since 2020
Summary
In partnership with the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA), the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS) is proud to support a new NSERC Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in Animal Welfare to develop a research and outreach program (2020—2025) on the welfare and behaviour of companion animals.
The new companion animal welfare research program will integrate into UBC's established and renowned Animal Welfare Program, which has been a leader in research, outreach, and education since the creation of the first NSERC IRC in 1997. This application marks the beginning of a novel program, which will generate cutting-edge research in the field of companion animal welfare as well as create multidisciplinary training opportunities for graduate students, for professionals in the companion animal industry, and for undergraduate students through the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award program.
The planned research will focus on important issues in companion animal welfare that are of great concern to the scientific community, to the companion animal industry, and to professionals in non-profit organizations. Specifically, the proposed work will fall under three themes:
- behaviour and welfare of cats in animal shelters
- behaviour and welfare of dogs
- behaviour and welfare of pet rabbits and rats in animal shelters
These themes have been selected to target critical applied research, education and outreach needs of the animal sheltering and greater research communities across Canada.
Studies will be conducted at UBC LFS, the BC SPCA, and other animal shelters. The BC SPCA comprises 44 locations, employs 572 staff members and 5,500 volunteers, and assists more than 45,000 animals per year. The NSERC IRC in Animal Welfare at UBC LFS, in close collaboration with the BC SPCA, is thus ideally suited to generate applied research to improve companion animal welfare and successful outcomes in Canadian society.
Partner
- British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA)
Contact information
Faculty of Land and Food Systems
The University of British Columbia
Email: a.protopopova@ubc.ca
Website:
http://awp.landfood.ubc.ca/
