AVC Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre

A new event is coming to the AVC and it’s open to all UPEI students! Registration opens on August 31st and will close on September 16 with acceptances going out September 18. Register to be a part of a brand new experience here at AVC, courtesy of the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre!! 🐶

Save the date! 🗓️ Stay tuned for more details on how to apply for AVC’s first Animal Welfare Hackathon! This event will be open to UPEI students of all disciplines, as well as AVC students.

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We hope everyone is having a lovely and restful summer! If you have any photos from activities, lectures, or travel related to the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre that you would like to see featured on our social media, please send them to Meghan Dewar ([email protected]) with a short caption!

Annika Lindstrom received a SJDAWC travel award this year, which assisted with housing and travel costs to the Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) in Belcourt and Fort Totten, North Dakota. This was a 12-day rotation where Annika had the opportunity to work in a spay/neuter and wellness clinic that provided veterinary care to rural communities with limited or no local access to a veterinarian. This experience gave her a better understanding of how access to care is an important part of animal welfare.

Pictured is Annika recovering Major, the chihuahua puppy, from anesthesia after his neuter surgery at a RAVS field clinic on the Spirit Lake Tribe Reservation in North Dakota.

Congratulations Geoff Chase, AVC Class of 2028, for receiving a 2026 SJDAWC Veterinary Summer Research Award!

Geoff’s project will assess the impact of ultrasonic noise on lab animal welfare during development. This research analyzes how ultrasonic noise represents an additional stressor to lab animals within veterinary hospitals and shelters, and how this potentially extends to pets in the home.

Geoff will also travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, in August to attend the 2026 Veterinary Scholars Symposium where he will represent the SJDAWC by presenting a poster on his research.

Congratulations to Skyeler Webb, AVC Class of 2029, for receiving a 2026 SJDAWC Veterinary Summer Research Award.

Skyeler’s project will determine cardiovascular variables associated with athletic function in draft pulling horses. This research stems from the observation that sudden collapse or death in equine athletes is a highly emotional occurrence with significant consequences to the horses’ health, handlers’ safety, and the public’s perception of welfare during equestrian sporting events.

Skyeler will also travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, in August to attend the 2026 Veterinary Scholars Symposium where she will represent the SJDAWC by presenting a poster on her research.

Hayleigh Bursey (right) and Emma Nauss (left) were elected as the President and Vice President of the AVC Animal Welfare Club, respectively.

Over the last year, they have hosted lunch lectures on marine mammal welfare, rural area veterinary services, animal enforcement and investigations in PEI. They also collaborated with the AVC Bovine Club for a lecture about the welfare of animals at slaughter and conducted a tour of the Atlantic Beef Products abattoir. In addition, the club has hosted a donation drive and helped launch an exotics foster program with the PEI Humane Society, and raised funds with the AVC Enrichment and Behaviour club to purchase enrichment for the cows used for teaching at AVC.

If you’re interested in joining the Animal Welfare Club, reach out to Hayleigh, Emma, or Dr. Katy Proudfoot!

Three students have been awarded a SJDAWC Travel Award to assist them with the travel for an external rotation related to animal welfare during their fourth year.

Annika Lindstrom was awarded shortly before she participated in an external rotation at the Humane World for Animals Rural Area Veterinary Services in Belcourt and Fort Totten, North Dakota. Stay tuned for photos once our Travel Award recipients return from their rotations!

Three students have been awarded a SJDAWC Travel Award to assist them with the travel for an external rotation related to animal welfare during their fourth year.

Minhye Lee will participate in an external rotation at the Wilder Institute and Calgary Zoo in Calgary, Alberta, as well as an additional external rotation at Zoos Victoria Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria, Australia.