Global collaboration for animal welfare: Professionals from Ukraine enrich their skills and knowledge at SLU

The first training of Ukrainian professionals took place on 11-18 March 2024 at SLU, Uppsala, and was organized by Galia Zamaratskaia from the Department of Molecular Sciences, Elina Åsbjer from SCAW and Cecilia Almlöv from EPU.

The aims of the training were:

• to improve teachers' skills in animal welfare, animal welfare legislation and sustainable livestock production,
• to support the use of advanced didactic methods in teaching and learning
• to master digital skills

The training consisted of lectures, exercises, group discussions and study visits.

“The training in the highly relevant area of animal welfare and sustainable livestock production, through cooperation between EU and Ukrainian partners, will enable us to better coordinate activities and approaches in educating young specialists and retraining practitioners, benefiting both societal and environmental concerns.”, says Professor Anatolii Shostia from Poltava State Agrarian University.

“Animal welfare and health are closely related to food safety. For example, ensuring high-quality animal welfare standards contribute to the overall health of livestock animals and reduce the risk of foodborne diseases”, adds Professor Liudmyla Parkhomenko from Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University.

“Nowadays, consumers are concerned not only about the safety of the food but also about the welfare of the animals involved in the production. Food producers should implement animal welfare standards to meet regulatory requirements and maintain consumer trust”, explains Oleksandra Levchenko from Ukrainian Corporation for the Production of Meat on an Industrial Basis "Tvarinprom".

We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the training: Elina Åsbjer, Galia Zamaratskaia, Cecilia Almlöv, Alexandra D'Urso, Jannie Teinler, Roger Pettersson, Oleksiy Guzhva, Khrystyna Kurta, Oksana Dudarko, Else Verbeek, Hedvig Kjellström, Lotta Berg, Lina Göransson, Rebecka Westin, Ioannis Dimitriou, Sara Gräslund, Niclas Högberg, Johan Lindsjö, Su-Lin Heden, Sigrid Agenäs, Geir Løe, Hallvard Wie, Karin Olofsson-Sannö (National Veterinary Institute), Mattias Gårdlund (Swedish Board of Agriculture) and Paulina Lingers (Växa Sverige).

The activity was funded by the European Commission within the Erasmus+ Programme. Key Action: Capacity-Building in Higher Education (E+CBHE). Project reference number: 101083023 — SULAWE — ERASMUS-EDU-2022-CBHE.

More information regarding the project along with contact data to the project members you can find here: https://sulawe.org.