The development of the scientific assessment of animal welfare, Professor Donald M. Broom

Abstract

Professor Donald Broom is one of the founders of Animal Welfare Science. He was the first Professor on Animal Welfare in the world, getting the position of Colleen Macleod Professor of Animal Welfare at Cambridge University (United Kingdom) in 1986. He contributed with many concepts on animal welfare and, among them, the most used concept of animal welfare, defined as: "the welfare of an animal has been defined as its state as regards its attempts to cope with its environment", first published in 1986 (Broom DM 1986, Indicators of poor welfare, British Veterinary Journal, 142: 524-526). Professor Broom has also worked in the development of methodologies for scientific assessment of animal welfare. He published over 250 scientific articles and 7 books, among them should be emphasized two: 1) Farm Animal Behavior and Welfare, published in co-authorship with Prof.. Andrew Fraser, now in its 4th edition (it was first published in 1990), and 2) Stress and Animal Welfare, published in co-authored with KG Johnson, who is in the second edition (first published in 1993). The highlight of these two books is due to their importance for the consolidation of animal welfare concepts. Professor Broom had also an important role in various advisory committees, coordinating the session Animal Welfare, the Scientific Veterinary Committee in Brussels (Scientific Veterinary Committee, Animal Welfare Section in Brussels), and acted as scientific advisor to the Council of Europe Standing Committee of the Convention on the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes, Strasbourg and as a member of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, the United Kingdom. After his retirement, in September 2009, Professor Broom is dedicating his time to disseminate the science of animal welfare, offering lectures, workshops, and courses and cooperating in scientific research. These are the activities that he will be engaged during his next visit to Brazil, scheduled for May 2010. (AU)