"Chicken Whisperer" Receiving Prestigious National Animal Welfare Award For His Pioneer Research

OTTAWA, April 8, 2019 /CNW/ - Humane Canada is pleased to announce that Dr. Ian Duncan of the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph has been named the recipient of the 2019 Frederic A. McGrand Lifetime Achievement Award.

"This award, which has been given out since 1985, acknowledges outstanding contributions to animal welfare in Canada" says Barbara Cartwright, CEO of Humane Canada. "We are pleased to announce Dr. Duncan as the winner of this prestigious recognition for his long-time committed to finding solutions to improve farm animal welfare", continues Cartwright.

Have you ever considered what a chicken wants? As a pioneer of preference and motivation research, Dr. Duncan was one of the first people to develop a scientific approach to "ask" animals what matters to them, and how much it matters. His elegant work led the way for the development of similar techniques in many other species. Using this approach in poultry, he and his colleagues and numerous graduate students established important causes of frustration and pain in poultry and demonstrated how their welfare could be improved by addressing these issues.

"Receiving this award is both a personal and professional achievement", says Dr. Duncan. "My research on the suffering experienced by egg-laying hens in battery cages helped to push for more humane husbandry systems.  However, I now feel that teaching the newer generations is what's truly going to make a difference in animal welfare" continues Duncan.

He also works with organizations around the world to help develop animal welfare certification programs. He is one of the foremost experts on farm animal welfare, particularly poultry welfare, in Canada and around the world.

Dr. Duncan is no stranger to the Humane Canada Awards. He co-received the 2017 Leadership in Farm Animal Welfare Award, for his work helping to secure better lives for millions of Canada's egg-laying hens through his work on the National Farm Animal Care Council's code committee for layer hens.

 "Dr. Duncan now joins in the ranks of individuals who have received this esteemed award for their lifetime commitment to advancing animal welfare in Canada", says Cartwright. Dr. David Suzuki is the most recent recipient of this award in 2017.

The award will be presented this weekend at the sixth annual National Animal Welfare Conference, hosted at the Bonaventure Hotel in Montréal. This event is the largest and best attended conference of its kind in Canada, bringing together over 375 individuals who work with, care for and advocate for animals.

ABOUT HUMANE CANADA
Humane Canada is the federation of SPCAs and humane societies, driving positive, progressive change to end animal cruelty, improve animal protection and promote the humane treatment of all animals. To learn more about Humane Canada, please visit humanecanada.ca

ABOUT THE ANIMAL WELFARE LEADERSHIP & INNOVATION AWARDS
Humane Canada's Animal Welfare Leadership & Innovation Awards were launched in 2016 as a way to recognize and celebrate those who are making important contributions to animal welfare in Canada. Other Humane Canada award winners this year include: Dr. Charu Chandrasekera, the Donner Canadian Foundation, Furry Hobos N Hiway Hero's, Zachary's Paws for Healing, Spca de Montréal and Kevin Strooband of the Lincoln County Humane Society.

SOURCE Humane Canada

Media contact: Natalia Hanson, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Humane Canada, Office: 613-224-8072 ext. 12, Cell: 613-262-6233, [email protected]