Research chair in poultry welfare is launched

Guelph, ON – University of Guelph professor Tina Widowski has been named as the new Egg Farmers of Canada Chair in Poultry Welfare. Professor Widowski is based in the Ontario Agricultural College’s (OAC) Department of Animal and Poultry Science and leads North America’s largest group of animal welfare scientists as director of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare. In her new role, Professor Widowski will collaborate with researchers on laying hen welfare and egg production, including enriched and aviary systems.

The seven-year partnership between the university and the Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) will allow the university to expand its highly regarded research in food and animal welfare. EFC says that egg farmers will benefit from the creation of a critical mass of young, well-educated professionals with knowledge of poultry welfare.

“Egg Farmers of Canada is very pleased to be teaming up with Tina Widowski, an outstanding researcher we’ve had a chance to work with in recent years,” says Peter Clarke, EFC chair. “We need the brightest minds in our academic institutions to guide our industry forward, which is why we’re delighted to partner with the University of Guelph on poultry welfare research.”

Professor Widowski was appointed to a faculty position in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science in 1990. As director of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph, her research focuses on housing and management practices and their affect on the physiology, behaviour and welfare of poultry and swine. The Campbell Centre is the first research centre of its kind in North America and second of its kind in the world.