Dorothy Sidley Memorial Scholarship winners 2013
30 August 2013
Dorothy Sidley Scholarships have been awarded to three students in 2013: Jorge Miguel Carvalho dos Reis Branco de Matos, an Integrated Masters in Veterinary Medicine student at the University of Porto, Portugal, and Thomas Elwes and Rebecca Taylor, both undergraduate Veterinary Science students at the Royal Veterinary College, UK.
Jorge Miguel Carvalho dos Reis Branco de Matos has designed a study to assess the impact of weight, age and manual catching of broiler chickens on the morphological integrity of the hip joint and gracilis muscle. The objective of the study is to assess any correlation between handling methods and lesions found in the hip joints of the birds post-mortem, with the ultimate aim of raising awareness of the importance of maintaining best practice.
Thomas Elwes has received the scholarship to assist his investigation into the reasons for rejection of carcases during ante- and post-mortem inspection for religious slaughter. It is hoped that the results of the project may be useful in informing protocols which may aid the ante-mortem identification of animals unlikely to pass the post-mortem inspection.
Rebecca Taylor has proposed a study to examine the pathophysiology of captive-bolt stunning of alpacas. The findings of the study will hopefully provide important information on the stunning and slaughter of alpacas that could lead to improvements in welfare at the time of slaughter.
The HSA wishes the 2013 Dorothy Sidley Scholars well with their projects and looks forward to seeing the results later in the year.