Animal activism in the business school: Using fierce compassion for teaching critical and positive perspectives

This article explores a practical approach to teaching animal ethics in food systems as part of a business course. We argue that tackling such complex and emotionally charged topics is vital to shifting unsustainable and hurtful behaviours towards more positive futures. Our teaching example outlines a pedagogy of courageously witnessing, inquiring with empathy and prompting positive action; an activist approach we term fierce compassion. These three layers blend positive and critical perspectives in a classroom to address contentious issues of large-scale industrial animal production hitherto largely neglected in a traditional business curriculum. While acknowledging that academic activism is controversial, we argue that fierce compassion – noticing the suffering that is remote and often systemically hidden – can inform and structure education towards more post-anthropocentric and just futures for all living beings – human and nonhuman alike.

Metaphyseal Osteopathy in a Caucasian Shepherd Crossbred Dog

A six-month old, 24 kg, intact male Caucasian Shepherd crossbred dog was presented at the Sokoine University of Agriculture Teaching Animal Hospital with a history of difficulty standing and walking, and bilateral swelling of the distal antebrachial and crural metaphyeal region. The owner also reported prior calcium supplementation in form of dietary tablets. Upon physical examination; the animal was lethargic with fever, bilateral ocular discharge, tachypnea and reduced appetite. Hard painful bilateral swelling of the distal antebrachial and crural metaphyseal region was observed. Differential cell count showed neutrophilia and monocytosis. Sclerosis and paracortical cuffing of the distal antebrachial and crural metaphyseal region were seen on radiographic examination. Similar changes were also visualised in the proximal crural metaphyseal region. Further, cranial bowing of the radius with lateral deviation of the foot (carpal valgus) were also observed. Metaphyseal osteopathy was diagnosed based on the history, clinical and radiographic findings. The exact cause of metaphyseal osteopathy is unknown, however there have been reports linking it to breed predisposition and mineral over supplementation. Administration of corticosteroids and supportive care are recommended in dogs with metaphyseal osteopathy. However, a bony change that is paracortical cuffing requires several months for resorption.

Cat Pelvic Fractures

An eight-month-old, 2.7 kg, male, neutered mixed breed cat was presented at the Sokoine University of Agriculture Teaching Animal Hospital with a history of lameness involving hind limbs, lethargy, anorexia and failure to urinate or defecate. Abdominal palpation revealed a distended urinary bladder and firm faeces within the colon. Manipulation of the hips elicited pain and lower lumbar pain was also elicited on palpation. Radiographic examination revealed, an old fracture of the sacrum, lordosis of the lumbar spine with indented vertebral end plates, left sacroiliac joint subluxation and abnormally ventral angling of the ilial wings. Narrowing of the pelvic canal was also observed. A diagnosis of old fractures of the sacrum, left sacral iliac subluxation and narrowing of the pelvic canal was made based on the history, clinical and radiographic examination. Limitation of activity for three weeks was recommended to facilitate healing process. The owner reported the patient had a gradual recovery from lameness. Computed tomography would have provided further insight on the nature and severity of the fractures that the animal sustained. However, it was not done due to unavailability

Teaching Animal Genetics and Breeding: What are the resources available to instructors?

The dynamism of education requires that teaching and learning follow suit. The globalization of education community has made materials for teaching and learning easily accessible but sometimes being aware that these resources exist is challenging. The present resource manual attempts to address this by highlighting some of the teaching and learning resources that are available to the instructor in animal genetics and breeding. The availability of the Internet has improved the access to teaching resources that will be of assistance to teachers and learners. Taking cognizance of this rich resource, a teaching resource portfolio relevant to the animal genetics and breeding has been developed. The portfolio includes some textbook resources for improvement of general teaching skills and course development; educational visual resources such as videos and internet sites: publishing companies that provide teaching texts as well as ancillary teaching resources; some journals relevant to animal genetics and breeding; and brief descriptions of the items contained in the portfolio. Some recommended articles focusing specifically on current issues in teaching that facilitate the process of learning for students as it may pertain to the animal genetics and breeding classroom as well as online sites of relevant humor content resources are provided. As such, this teaching resource manual is timely in providing instructors in animal genetics and breeding with the links to important teaching resources.

188 Teaching animal handling through classrooms and hands-on experiences

The dairy industry’s Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (F.A.R.M.) program expects annual employee training in cattle handling. Offering meaningful, accessible educational courses should be a priority of the industry as consumers demand quality care for cattle from farm to table when they make purchasing decisions. In response to this industry expectation, SDSU Extension offered multiple formats for cattle handling trainings. Methods used with University students and dairy employees to teach skills of proper cattle handling as it relates to quality products and animal well-being will be discussed. The objective is to evaluate knowledge gained and present outcomes learned from the trainings. In 2018, cattle handling and a brief introduction to the F.A.R.M. program was taught in an upperclassman Physiology of Lactation course (n=25 students) through two 50-minute lectures and one 2-hour hands-on cattle lab. Students were evaluated using multiple-choice questions as part of an exam. In 2019, one 50-minute lecture introducing the F.A.R.M. program and one 2-hour lecture/hands-on cattle lab on basic stockmanship skills was presented to the underclassman Introduction to Dairy Science course (n=27 students). Students were evaluated using a 10-question lab worksheet with multiple-choice, true-false, and short answer questions plus seven questions on a later exam. The same year, a pre and post evaluation quiz was implemented with farm employees for cattle handling trainings on a commercial dairy (n=19 employees). Students in 2018 had an average score of 79.43%, while students in 2019 had an average score of 93.60% on the lab worksheet and 84.26% on the exam questions. The employee average score on the pre-test was 78.95% and 87.89% on the post-test. Students scored well overall. Despite improvement in the post-test scores, employees scored high on the pre-test. Further evaluation of cattle handling teaching methods using strategic assessments is needed to better understand whether implementation of proper skills is occurring from the knowledge learned. Adding follow-up accountability may enhance implementation of consistent proper care and maintain consumer confidence in dairy products.

Seven Types of Animality, Or: Lessons from Reading and Teaching Animal Fictions

This essay delves into the diversity of animal stories in human meaning ecologies and argues that the ‘lessons’ to be derived from these stories revolve around the meaning and effect of various forms of ambiguity. Following the route of a selection of mostly Irish canonical texts, from Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels to Seamus Heaney’s Death of a Naturalist, it formulates seven lessons for reading and teaching animal fictions in a multispecies world. It argues that we must cultivate a sense of ‘ciferal’ reading that does not resolve but thrives productively on the tensions and ambiguities of human-animal relations that literary fiction excels in putting into words.

Teaching Animal Behavior in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Primer

Face-to-face classes in animal behavior often stress experiential learning through laboratories that involve observation of live animals, as well as a lecture component that emphasizes formative assessment, discussion and critical thinking. As a result, behavior courses face unique challenges when moving to an online environment, as has been made necessary at many institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although online behavior courses may be remote, they can still be interactive and social, and designed with inclusive pedagogy. Here we discuss some of the key decisions that instructors should consider, provide recommendations, and point out new opportunities for student learning that stem directly from the move to online instruction. Specific topics include challenges related to generating an inclusive and engaging online learning environment, synchronous versus asynchronous formats, assignments that enhance student learning, testing format and execution, grade schemes, design of laboratory experiences including opportunities for Community Science, design of synthetic student projects, and workload balance for students and instructors.

Comparative Cognition and Cognitive Ecology in the Classroom

The scientific study of animal cognition has roots in both experimental psychology and evolutionary biology, with researchers often working in related disciplines such as neuroscience, computing science, or ecology. The interdisciplinary nature of the endeavour is both a strength and a challenge for the field. We begin this review with a brief history of comparative cognition and cognitive ecology, focusing on cognitive processes as a mechanistic link between ethology and behaviourism. We then present a ‘snapshot’ of modern-day undergraduate courses in Canada, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom that focus on animal cognition, highlighting the various course names and host departments. We emphasize the value of keeping (or adding) this subject material within curricula, either as independent courses or as enhanced material in other courses. We also present pedagogical approaches to teaching animal cognition that include techniques in large lecture-based courses and in smaller courses that emphasize hands-on experiential learning.