Egg Farmers of Canada name new chair in poultry welfare

16-05-2011 | Home | News

Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC) has named University of Guelph professor Tina Widowski as the new Egg Farmers of Canada Chair in Poultry Welfare.

Widowski is based in the Ontario Agricultural College’s (OAC) Department of Animal and Poultry Science and she leads North America’s largest group of animal welfare scientists as Director of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare. In her new role, Professor Widowski will collaborate with researchers on laying hen welfare and egg production, including enriched and aviary systems.

EFC is confident this new seven-year partnership will bring enormous benefits to both the University of Guelph and the Canadian egg industry. For the University, the Chair expands and complements the highly regarded research being done in food and animal welfare. Egg farmers will benefit from the creation of a critical mass of young, well-educated professionals with knowledge of poultry welfare that may become part of the next generation of industry leaders and technical experts.

“This support from Egg Farmers of Canada greatly enhances our leadership and expertise in the field,” said Robert Gordon, Dean of OAC. “In turn, it will help create research opportunities and breakthroughs, support the future leadership in our industry and provide valuable information for producers.”

Widowski was appointed to a faculty position in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science in 1990. As director of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph, her research focuses on housing and management practices and their affect on the physiology, behavior and welfare of poultry and swine. The Campbell Centre is the first research centre of its kind in North America and second of its kind in the world.

Related website
Egg Farmers of Canada
University of Guelph