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Glasgow scientist recognised for work to improve farm animal welfare
Dr Dorothy McKeegan received her award at the Humane Slaughter Association's conference.

Dr Dorothy McKeegan receives the 2019 Humane Slaughter Award

A senior lecturer in animal welfare and ethics has been given a special award for her research to improve the welfare of farm animals.


Dr Dorothy McKeegan from the University of Glasgow received the 2019 Humane Slaughter Award for her groundbreaking work into the welfare impacts of controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS), as well as her contribution to protecting animal welfare at slaughter.


She received the award on Wednesday (9 October) at the Humane Slaughter Association’s (HSA) conference, during which she presented a paper on Low Atmospheric Pressure Stunning (LAPS) for poultry in pigs.


Professor Malcolm Mitchell, who nominated Dr McKeegan for the award, said: “She is an inspirational scientist, in a demanding area of research, motivating and training the next generation of scientists to work in this challenging field.”

Dr Robert Hubrecht, chief executive and scientific director of HSA added: “Collectively, Dr McKeegan’s work represents an outstanding and sustained contribution to the field of animal welfare at the time of killing. Her research has had significant real-world impacts, with ongoing influence both practically and in policy development.”

Dr McKeegan’s extensive research career has focussed on welfare at slaughter or killing, combining behavioural approaches with physiological and neurophysiological techniques.

She pioneered the first comprehensive research into the welfare impacts of CAS and her findings had a substantial and international influence on poultry welfare. Indeed, they directly informed the choice of permitted gas mixtures for the killing of poultry in the EU.

More recently, Dr McKeegan was invited to lead an international research team carrying out a welfare assessment on LAPS and was instrumental in producing an application to the European Commission to allow its use in poultry. 

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
New guidance for antibiotic use in rabbits

New best practice guidance on the responsible use of antibiotics in rabbits has been published by the BSAVA in collaboration with the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWA&F).

The guidance is free and has been produced to help veterinary practitioners select the most appropriate antibiotic for rabbits. It covers active substance, dose and route of administration all of which are crucial factors when treating rabbits owing to the risk of enterotoxaemia.

For more information and to access the guide, visit the BSAVALibrary.