Dr. Gareth Arnott from the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) and the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast has been selected to join the UK government’s Animal Welfare Committee (AWC).
The AWC advises the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), as well as the Scottish and Welsh governments, on the welfare of animals.
Arnott is one of seven new members of the AWC for the term January 2023 to December 2026.
He has been the lead for the UK-wide Animal Welfare Research Network since January of 2022 and is a reader in IGFS and the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s.
Commenting on his appointment, Arnott said: “I am very grateful to have received this appointment and see it as an ideal opportunity to use my science and research experience to contribute to developments in animal-welfare policy and legislation.”
IGFS director Prof. Nigel Scollan added: “This is a great honour for Dr. Arnott and very well deserved.
“It places him at the centre of animal-welfare policy in the UK, helping ensure that future legislation and guidelines are based on rigorous, peer-reviewed, scientific evidence.”
Animal Welfare Committee
The other new members of the AWC are:
- Emily Craven;
- Simon Girling;
- Julian Kupfer;
- Stephen Lister;
- Julia Wrathall;
- Madeleine Campbell.
Madeleine Campbell, who was appointed to the position of AWC chair, is a former chair of the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) ethics and welfare advisory panel.
