The Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) is now inviting applications for its 2015 Dorothy Sidley Memorial Scholarships.
The Scholarships were established in 1986 as a memorial to the late Dorothy Sidley MBE, who was General Secretary of the HSA for 48 years. They support students and industry trainees undertaking research projects that are aimed at improving the welfare of food animals during transport, in markets or at slaughter.
Undergraduate and postgraduate students in agricultural, veterinary or meat sciences, or trainees in the livestock, meat and fish industries in the UK, are eligible, as are students registered at universities outside the UK that have a UFAW/HSA University ‘LINK’ person (see www.ufaw.org.uk/links-news-events.php). Each Scholarship is for up to £2,000.
Applicants are encouraged to design research projects in areas they are particularly interested in. Projects now being undertaken by current scholars include: investigating equine stunning and slaughter methods; examining electrical current profiles during head-only stunning of sheep; investigating behavioural responses of poultry to Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning; and a project to evaluate and enhance stakeholder knowledge of OIE animal welfare standards in SE Asia.
For 2014 the HSA is also making some suggestions for research areas including: possible refinements to electrical stunners used in small-scale poultry slaughter; the associations between transport variables and fish welfare; the constraints to the adoption of higher welfare methods of stunning around the world; and the effect of cattle breed temperament on welfare in abattoirs.
Closing date for applications for the 2015 Scholarships is 27th February 2015. Further information and application forms are available at the HSA website www.hsa.org.uk or by contacting the HSA on 01582 831919.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
