Errors in estimating pain in factory-farmed animals
Welcome to the RP Strategic Animal Webinars and the talk and Q&A session: Errors in estimating pain in factory-farmed animals
Date: Tuesday, November 25 (10 AM PDT, 1 PM EDT, 6 PM BST, 7 PM CEST)
About: Properly measuring and understanding farmed animal pain is a key lever for welfare intervention design and strategic prioritization of resources dedicated to helping these animals. In this webinar, Dr Schuck-Paim will explore how pain in animals is shaped not only by the type or severity of injury but also by the environment in which it occurs.
She will discuss the findings of the upcoming paper “The Pain Echo Chamber: How Barren Environments and Intensive Rearing Amplify Pain in Captive Animals”, which examines how factors commonly present in barren and intensive systems—such as movement restriction, social and cognitive deprivation, disrupted rest, chronic stress, early-life pain and maternal stress—can amplify pain perception and delay recovery.
Whether you are a researcher, advocate, or policymaker, this session will equip you with a better understanding of these foundational considerations for farmed animal welfare strategy.
Speaker: Dr Cynthia Schuck-Paim is the co-founder and Scientific Director at Welfare Footprint Institute. Cynthia holds a Ph.D. and a post-doctoral degree in zoology (animal behavior and cognition) from Oxford University. She has developed research projects for institutions in the UK, USA, and Brazil and has authored nearly 100 scientific publications, book chapters, and educational materials. Additionally, she has taught data analysis and experimental design for researchers in the biomedical field for several years. She also holds an MSc in Ecology and has conducted extensive research on the impacts of animal agriculture.
Format: We’ll start with a focused 20-30-minute presentation, followed by an extended Q&A session.