1960
AN ANIMAL HANDLING COURSE FOR TODAY'S ANIMAL SCIENCE STUDENT
An increasing number of students with limited exposure to animal husbandry and plans to practice companion animal veterinary medicine are enrolling as Animal Science majors at the University of Arkansas. Without adjusting the curriculum to reflect the needs of the incoming student body, the department is at risk of graduating students lacking the knowledge and skills expected of an Animal Science graduate. Chief among those is the general livestock husbandry principles and practices which previous generations of animal science students might have been expected to already have become familiar with prior to matriculation. Simultaneously, the knowledge base and technologies continues to grow in a number of animal science disciplines, necessitating their inclusion into courses in our curriculum, often at the expense of the more time-consuming and logistically difficult live animal handling laboratory experiences. To address this disparity, a course has been developed at the University of Arkansas to provide animal science students with the opportunity to learn and practice safe and humane animal handling, restraint, and husbandry procedures of a variety of domestic species. The course utilizes live animal demonstrations and hands-on activities with cattle, horses, sheep, swine, dogs, cats, and laboratory rodents. Students learn methods of safe, effective, and humane handling and restraint as well as typical husbandry procedures which may be performed by an animal scientist. Examinations combine a written portion to test comprehension of basic principles as well as a practical portion to test ability to perform basic procedures. Students are thereby given the opportunity to learn, practice, and demonstrate animal handling knowledge and skills that may be lacking in their previous experience or academic history.
Keywords: handling, husbandry, student