Wild animal lives through a welfare lens

Our in-person and online Seminar Series on Wild Animal Lives Through a Welfare Lens is delivered in partnership with the Royal Veterinary College and the Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London) as part of the MSc Wild Animal Biology.

Seminar 1

Seminar 2

Seminar 3

Seminar 4

Seminar 5

Seminar 3  |  January 29, 2025

Urban Ecology and Wild Animal Welfare

This seminar features Amanda Trask from the Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society of London, Charlotte Burn from the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London, and Marion Chatelain from the University of Innsbruck.

A panel discussion follows, chaired by Elizabeth Preston, from the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London.

All sessions of this seminar series are hybrid events. You can attend online via Zoom or in-person.

Date

January 29, 2025

Time

3-5 pm

In-person location:

Great Hall, Royal Veterinary College
Royal College Street
London
NW1 0TU
United Kingdom

The Great Hall is directly in front of the entrance. Please ask at reception if you need assistance.

Venue map

View recording

Speakers and panelists

Amanda Trask

Speaker

Parasites in the city: How is the impact of parasites on wild animal welfare affected by urbanization?

Amanda Trask is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Zoological Society of London. Amanda’s research focuses on small population recovery, with a particular focus on Extinct in the Wild species. Her current research aims to aid recovery efforts for the sihek (Guam kingfisher) by determining how individual health can influence population processes for the ex-situ population, and what this means for species conservation and individual welfare.

Charlotte Burn

Speaker

Animal welfare in urban environments - a brief overview

Charlotte Burn is the Associate Professor in Animal Welfare and Behaviour Science at the Royal Veterinary College. Charlotte’s research interests include the mechanisms and motivations behind animal behavior, animal perceptual abilities, and how to make concrete improvements to animal welfare. She is a trustee of the BVA's Animal Welfare Foundation charity, and she was the RVC's Local Network Lead for the UK Reproducibility Network.

Marion Chatelain

Speaker

Bird Feeding and Urbanization: Dual Drivers of Welfare in Garden Birds

Marion’s research centers on understanding how human activities shape animal health, fitness, and evolution. With a decade of experience in urban ecology, she has demonstrated how metal pollution affects bird physiology, development and productivity. For the past three years, Marion has been conducting research at the University of Innsbruck, examining how the availability of natural and human-provided food for birds varies across urban mosaics and how these variations affect the ecology, evolution and welfare of garden birds.

Elizabeth Preston

Chair

Beth Preston is a Lecturer in Wildlife Ecology at the Royal Veterinary College. Beth's main research interests are in behavioral ecology and wildlife conservation, including how to apply behavioral research to a conservation setting. Her postdoctoral research investigated disease impacts in the endangered Ethiopian wolf, including population dynamics, and her PhD research explored the impacts of inter-group conflict in wild banded mongooses on their social and movement behaviors.