Animal Welfare Research Network

动物福利仍然是许多公众的一个重要问题。在2016年欧洲晴雨表对近28，000名欧盟公民的调查中，94%的人认为保护养殖动物的福利很重要，57%的人表示这样做非常重要（特别欧洲晴雨表442，2016）。结果是，关于动物使用和动物福利的辩论可能是高度紧张和情绪化的事情，容易受到既得利益和偏见的影响。然而，政府和其他利益攸关方关于未来方向的决定需要基于尽可能公正和客观的信息。这些信息来自系统和科学的动物福利研究。因此，一个强大而持续的动物福利研究社区对于支持维持和改善福利的明智决策至关重要。为了在英国动物福利研究界（可能是世界上最大的动物福利研究界）实现更大的互动和凝聚力，动物福利研究网络（AWRN）于2016年成立。自那时以来，其成员已增长到近500人，包括动物福利研究人员，神经科学家，免疫学家，社会和政治科学家和其他学者，以及来自慈善机构，工业，研究资助组织，政策制定者和政府的代表。调查表明，成员们通过形成新的合作关系，提高他们作为研究人员的技能，提高他们对动物福利研究的理解，更加意识到该领域的机会，并取得资助成功而受益。在AWRN的下一阶段，我们的目标是继续和发展我们的活动，包括：（i）举行为期两天的年会，其中包括网络活动、讲习班、（如撰写资助），以及与特邀演讲者的研究焦点会议;（ii）发展我们的早期职业研究人员活动，以刺激，鼓励和指导ECR发展成为下一代PI，领导研究赠款申请并建立动物福利研究小组（例如，通过研究人员交流和跨研究所博士培训和指导）;（iii）每年资助3个由成员主导的工作坊，让动物福利研究人员和其他相关领域的持份者/研究人员聚集一堂，讨论新出现的感兴趣课题，举办培训班，（iv）维护和发展我们的网站（awrn.co.uk），特别注重鼓励使用面向内部的成员区域进行讨论，分享有关方法、技能、新技术和研究结果的信息;（v）进一步增加成员，包括在潜在的网络共同资助者（UFAW）的支持下探索国际化的潜力;（vi）探索未来的资助机会，包括与UFAW和OpenPhilanthropy等机构合作，OpenPhilanthropy已开始资助动物福利相关项目，并考虑征收加入费或订阅费。

Animal welfare continues to be an important issue for many members of the public. In a 2016 Eurobarometer survey of nearly 28,000 EU citizens, 94% believed that it was important to protect the welfare of farmed animals, and 57% said that it was very important to do so (Special Eurobarometer 442, 2016). A consequence is that debates on animal usage and animal welfare can be highly charged and emotive affairs, open to the influence of vested interests and biased argument. However, decisions by government and other stakeholders for future directions need to be based on information that is as unbiased and objective as possible. This information comes from systematic and scientific animal welfare research. A strong and sustained animal welfare research community is thus essential to underpin well-informed decisions that maintain and improve welfare. To achieve greater interaction and cohesion within the UK animal welfare research community (probably the largest of its kind in the world), the Animal Welfare Research Network (AWRN) was set up in 2016. Since that time, its membership has grown to nearly 500, including animal welfare researchers but also neuroscientists, immunologists, social and political scientists and other academics, alongside representatives from charities, industry, research funding organisastions, policy-makers and government. Surveys indicate that members have benefitted by forming new collaborations, improving their skills as a researcher, improving their understanding of animal welfare research, becoming more aware of opportunities in the area, and achieving grant success.In the next phase of the AWRN, we aim to continue and develop our activities including: (i) running 2-day annual meetings which incorporate networking activities, workshops (e.g. grant-writing), and research spotlight sessions with invited speakers; (ii) developing our early career researcher (ECR) activities to stimulate, encourage and mentor ECRs to develop into the next generation of PIs leading research grants applications and establishing animal welfare research groups (e.g. via researcher-exchange and cross-institute PhD training and mentoring); (iii) funding 3 member-led workshops per year to bring together animal welfare researchers and stakeholders / researchers in other relevant areas to discuss emerging topics of interest, run training sessions, and develop new contacts (at least one of these will be ring-fenced for ECRs each year); (iv) maintaining and developing our website (awrn.co.uk) with a particular focus on encouraging use of the internal-facing members area for discussion, sharing of information on methods, skills, new technologies, and findings; (v) further increasing membership, including exploring the potential for internationalisation with the support of a potential Network co-funder (UFAW); (vi) exploring future funding opportunities, including with UFAW and also bodies such as OpenPhilanthropy which has started to fund animal welfare-related projects, and considering the imposition of joining or subscription fees.