News Releases

Different Animals, Same Needs: An Animal Welfare Seminar

For Release Upon Receipt - July 17, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad & Tobago – Animal lovers, hunters, farmers and all other interested persons are invited to Different Animals, Same Needs: An Animal Welfare Seminar hosted by The University of the West Indies (UWI) School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), and sponsored by the European Union and Pedigree Brand. 

The UWI SVM is the nation’s leading academic resource dealing with animal health and welfare issues and views raising its visibility as one of the most significant animal welfare challenges facing the nation’s citizens. During the debate on the Dog Control Act, 2013 the Honourable Attorney General caused a clause to be inserted, imposing a duty of care on owners of dogs, conceding that people are often ignorant of the needs of the animals with which they interact daily. Different Animals, Same Needs seeks to provide the people of Trinidad & Tobago with the necessary knowledge to ensure that they are able to meet their animals’ physical and psychological needs. 

The seminar will address the themes of Animal Welfare and Public Health, Animal Welfare and Public Safety, Farm Animal Welfare, Companion Animal Welfare, Recommendation for Pro-Animal Welfare Legislation, and Wildlife Welfare and Animal Welfare support systems, with the aim of helping attendees understand what is considered animal abuse, the psychological and physical effects of abuse on animals, why animal welfare is important and best welfare practices with regard to farm, companion and wild animals. It is geared towards the average citizen and designed to be highly interactive and informative. 

A key component of the seminar is the premiere of an animal abuse/animal welfare awareness documentary titled "Silent Victims". This, it is hoped, will prove to be an important tool in the fight for improved animal welfare practices, as it heightens awareness across diverse audiences about some of the more prevalent animal abuse practices in society. The documentary encourages viewers to obtain information on how to best care for their animals. 

Key speakers are Dr. Locksley L. Messam, post-doctoral scholar at the University of California Davis, USA, where he researches human-animal interactions, the effects of animals on human health and well-being and epidemiological methodology, and The UWI’s own Professor of Animal Science, Gary Garcia, whose main research interests include Intensive Wildlife Production and Management. 

Different Animals, Same Needs is therefore a comprehensive public information tool with the purpose of improving the quality of life for all animals nationwide. Specially invited guests include Senator the Hon. Anand Ramlogan S.C., Attorney General; Mrs. Daniela Tramacere, Chargé d`Affaires A.I., Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Senator the Hon. Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie, Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development; Senator the Hon. Devant Maharaj, Minister of Food Production, and Professor Clement Sankat, UWI Principal. 

The seminar takes place Saturday, July 20, 1-6pm, at Amphitheatre A of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope. For more information, please contact Vereuch Simmons at 369-1979 or 645-4481, or email uwianimalwelfare@gmail.com.

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About THE UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences. 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.) 

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