My research addresses fundamental questions of animal behaviour and cognition as they relate to animal welfare and health.  I am interested in why domestic animals do what they do, and what implications this has for their welfare, health and management.

Current projects are on detectable behavioural changes during subclinical inflammation and on propensity to play as a welfare indicator.

 

Research Keywords

• links between subclinical inflammation, behaviour and welfare
• play and playfulness as welfare indicators
• social behaviour, social dynamics in groups
• natural weaning in cattle
• individual response profiles
• farm animal cognition

 

Research funders 

BBSRC, INNOVATE, EU, Defra, John Oldacre Foundation, RSPCA

 

Current Research Collaborators  (alphabetical)

Dorit Albertsen MRCVS MSc - natural weaning approaches in beef suckler herds

Prof Andrew Dowsey - AI for detection social behaviour change with subclinical disease in cows; AI for dairy cow welfare assessment

Prof Rafael Freire, Charles Sturt University - play in parrot populations

Dr Daniel Enriquez Hidalgo - dairy cow welfare assessment

Dr Ben Lecorps - propensity to play as a welfare indicator in cows

Prof Mike Mendl - welfare indicators

Prof Siobhan Mullan, University College Dublin - new farmed species decision frameworks; dairy cow welfare assessment