Finding the balance: Does methane mitigation come at a cost to cow welfare?
Supervisors:
Gareth Arnott, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast
Dorothy McKeegan, School of BioDiversity, One Health & Veterinary University of Glasgow
Industry Partner - Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
Summary:
Use of dietary additives, which aim to modify the rumen environment, have been highlighted as a means of achieving direct reductions in methane production from ruminants, particularly dairy cows. However, little is known about the long-term effects of these additives, and how modification of the rumen environment may affect animal welfare, particularly when they are integrated within the diet from early life.
In this exciting PhD program, the scholar will undertake a high impact, collaborative research project with Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and the University of Glasgow (UoG), and will benefit from the Dairy Research facilities at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Hillsborough. The scholar will assess multiple validated welfare indicators at different developmental stages to determine the effects of long-term application of dietary methane inhibitors throughout the lifecycle of dairy calves at the AFBI research farm in Hillsborough. This research project will extend our understanding of the long-term impact of diet-based methane mitigation strategies on the future dairy herd. This will allow characterization of interactions between methane inhibition and welfare, thus helping to build a sustainable and ethical dairy production system.
This research project will provide the scholar with vast experience and cross-cutting training opportunities across various institutes. At AFBI Hillsborough, the student will undertake fieldwork including the use of state-of-the-art animal sensor systems and be trained in animal procedures and gain a license for undertaking procedures. Extensive training in a vast range of animal welfare assessment techniques and use of the latest behavioural software analysis systems will be provided by QUB and UoG, and the scholar will also have access to a multidisciplinary research body and a range of specialized postgraduate courses.