Animal Welfare Training Conference

Background

In October and November 2025, WOAH and the University of Melbourne successfully delivered two Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops in Lao PDR and Vietnam, covering humane killing for disease control and animal welfare in pig production systems. These workshops equipped participants with the skills to deliver cascading animal welfare training locally, which several Members are already integrating into their national programmes.

To consolidate these efforts, an animal welfare training conference is being organised under the joint WOAH–ICFAW project, funded by Coefficient Giving.

The conference aims to strengthen regional capacity and support the implementation of WOAH standards in the Asia-Pacific region. It will serve as a platform to unite the recent ToT graduates into a harmonised network, evaluate the progress of their cascading training, and enhance broader stakeholder coordination.

Objectives

1. Trainer collaboration: Unite local cadres from the recent ToT programmes to share experiences and harmonise training approaches for WOAH animal welfare standards (Chapters 7.6 and 7.13)
2. Showcase competencies: Offer a regional platform for trainers to demonstrate their technical and pedagogical skills.
3. Stakeholder coordination: Enhance regional information exchange through partner updates, global guidance, and the latest research on WOAH standards.
4. Review & Next steps: Evaluate the progress of cascading training within national Veterinary Services and outline future strategies.

Documents

Concept note: ICFAW-WOAH Animal Welfare Training Conference

Agenda: Programme – ICFAW-WOAH Animal Welfare Training Conference