BI3S113 - Advanced Animal Ethics and Welfare 02 Mar 2018 - 31 Aug 2026 | Version 2

Associated Module Information

Module Code: BI3S113
Module Title: Advanced Animal Ethics and Welfare
Faculty: Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science
Faculty Group: Biological and Forensic Sciences
Faculty Sub Group: Biological Science
Module Leader: Michelle Cooper
Module Team: Rhiannon Stundon, Sasha Tyler, Cerys Rees
First Intended Intake: DEC 2017 Final Year of Intake:
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 6
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes:
HECOS Code Weighting:

Document Version Information

Version 2
Valid From 02 Mar 2018
Valid To 31 Aug 2026

Module Aims

The aim of this animal ethics & welfare module is to develop the student’s awareness and sensitivity of current issues, in order to improve their ability to make professional judgements in their duty of care towards animals.

Content Summary

A person working with animals must have an accurate knowledge of the current animal welfare legislation and know how to stay up-to-date throughout their career. Students will evaluate current legislation, regulatory bodies and welfare organisations and learn how to best inform their practice.

The student will explore ethical schools of thought and professional obligations that combine to uphold the duty of care an individual has for an animal. The student will submit an essay evaluating the ethical and legal implications of a single ethical dilemma.

Those students undertaking the BSc Veterinary Nursing Top-up must choose a small animal companion species for their assessments.

Those students undertaking the BSc Veterinary Nursing Top-up must choose a species linked to their RVN qualification for their assessments. (E.g. Small companion animal cat/dog/exotic. Equine assessments can only be completed by an REVN)

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Lecture 24
Tutorial 4
Practical classes and workshops 10
Independent Study 130
Directed Study 30
Formative Assessment - Scheduled 1
Formative Assessment - Independent 1
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Evaluate current legislation, regulatory and ethical viewpoints on animal welfare issues
LO2 Investigate and evaluate relevant ethical dilemmas

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Project 1 Produce a feature article for publication in a relevant journal on a specific animal welfare issue 0 2000 50 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Case study 1 A concentrated enquiry into a single ethical dilemma 0 2000 50 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Project 1
Case study 1

Reading List

Grandin T.(2015) Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach. Colorado: Colorado State University

Matthews, J.R. and Matthews, R.W. (2007). Successful Scientific Writing. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mullen, S and Fawcett A. (2017) Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases. Sheffield: 5m Publishing

Sandoe P. (2015) Companion Animal Ethics. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell

Rollin BE (2006) An Introduction to Veterinary Medical Ethics: Theory and Cases. Oxford: Blackwell