BRING ANIMAL WELFARE INTO FOCUS

In 2007, Green Lane became a member of the World Society for the Animal Protection (WSPA). Membership of this organization helps us be more successful in our efforts of bringing the problems existing in the field of animal health and welfare into focus.

Last year, under WSPA's small grant project, Green Lane received financial support that allowed us to start training cycles in farm animal welfare for farmers and agricultural specialists throughout Armenia. Now seminars are being conducted at each of ten Agricultural Support Regional (Marz) Centers Green Lane actively cooperates with. These Centers are located in all ten regions of Armenia and serve as main extension service providers at local level.

Seminars mainly addresses state veterinary inspectors, involved in the field of livestock breeding and animal farming, vets, farmers, livestock-breeding experts and other related specialists. Training cycles are organized and facilitated by Green Lane's livestock breeding and animal welfare expert Dr. Tigran Chitchyan. Dr. Chitchyan also works as a National Coordinator for AGROWEB Animal Welfare Sub-network and as a lecturer at the Armenian State Agrarian University. Participants of the seminars are being introduced to "Concepts in Animal Welfare" - an electronic educational resource (learning modules in PowerPoint Presentation format) developed and published by WSPA (some of these modules have been translated into Armenian and published on the AGROWEB-Amenia's Farm Animal Welfare Sub-portal). This gives the participants an opportunity to expand their knowledge of basic concepts in animal welfare as well as to focus on some specific issues like physiological measures of animal welfare, role of the veterinary profession, 'welfare - market' issue, farm animal transport and slaughter, etc. The seminars include assignments as well as a 'question/answer' part that allows participants to interact and share knowledge and experience.