Farming with Animal Welfare in Mind
A Network of UC Davis Researchers and Alumni is Carrying Animal Welfare Science from Campus to the Field
A gate swings wide at the auction ring at the Yolo County Fairgrounds. A group of goats and sheep hesitate, then shuffle through. They move as a group; their bodies pressed against each other. Beneath it all is their ruminant instinct of wanting to return from where they came. Rancher Nathan Medlar, with NM Ranch in Auburn, has arranged these gates to accommodate that instinct.
What unfolds here is not simply the work of moving animals from one place to another. It is part of a broader effort shaped by UC Davis researchers, veterinarians and alumni — a network carrying animal welfare science out of classrooms and into the field. Their work rests on a simple premise: If you understand how livestock perceive the world, you can improve their welfare and make the work safer and more efficient for the people who raise them.
Read more from UC Davis Magazine and listen to the Unfold podcast episode