Description:

RACE-Approved for 1.5 CE Credits, Course # 20-1112812

Over 1.2 trillion insects are reared as food and feed each year, more than 20x the number of farmed terrestrial vertebrates. Despite the number of livestock animals being reared, no legislation or best practice documentation exists to guide the industry in promoting species-specific welfare. This course will cover 1) the current and predicted scale of the farmed insect industry; 2) the state of the evidence on insect pain and sentience; 3) the species of insects currently farmed; and 4) case studies of species-specific farmed insect welfare concerns. The presentation will end with Q & A before a short group activity on the intersection of veterinary medicine and farmed insect welfare.

Learning Objectives:

1) Know the main species of farmed insects, their use, and the global scale/trajectory of the insects as food and feed industry.

2) Understand the empirical evidence and uncertainties in the field of insect sentience and welfare.

3) Understand some basic information about insect biology, mostly in the context of diversity in morphology, physiology, cognition, and life history strategies.

4) Apply knowledge of insect welfare to farmed conditions to address some current species-specific welfare concerns on farms with the best available scientific evidence.

5) Develop and implement strategies for the role of veterinarians in promoting farmed insect welfare.

90 minutes lecture time.