Postdoctoral pos. assessment of horse welfare

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Department of Animal Environment and Health, Uppsala Postdoctoral position assessment of horse welfare SLU develops the understanding and sustainable use of biological natural resources.This is achieved through research, teaching, environmental monitoring and assessment and information extension.SLU has 3000 employees, 4200 undergraduate and postgraduate students.Main campuses are located at Alnarp, Skara, Umeå and Uppsala www.slu.se Welfare assessment in horses: an animal based approach The Department of Animal Environment and Health is concerned with research, teaching and research information for increased knowledge on the relations between housing, management, feeding, animal health, behaviour, animal welfare and the environment.In a broader perspective, the department contributes to sustainable food production.The department has its activities located in Skara and in Uppsala.In addition to the wide variety of purposes horses serve, there are many procedures and systems available with regard to the housing, feeding, management, rearing and training of horses.These may cause a variety of welfare problems for the horse.Recent scientific work on animal welfare assessment focuses more and more on 'output measures'.It is recognised that input requirements are not a full guarantee for good welfare due to the complex interactions and relationships between animal, environment and management.Moreover, it is practically impossible to regulate each and every detail of housing and management.There is therefore a need for integrated welfare assessments based on output measures to evaluate the welfare at horse facilities, to identify specific risk factors at such facilities and to provide related advice for improvements.Also regulations increasingly develop towards including more output measures.There is little research addressing outcome based welfare assessment in horses.The present project aims therefore to analyse available horse based measures for welfare assessment and to design a first prototype of an assessment system.Improvement measures will also be collated.The project will also identify knowledge gaps and propose a related strategic research agenda.Qualifications: A doctoral degree in veterinary science is preferred.Candidates with a doctoral degree in biology or agricultural may also be considered.Demonstrable knowledge of and experience with horses is also a requirement Form of employment: 50% position for 2 years SLU is an equal opportunity employer.1 page) of previous research, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of at least two reference persons.All application documents should be written in English Applications, marked with 242/10 must have arrived at the Registrar of SLU, P.O.