Understanding the Behaviour and Improving the Welfare of Chickens

Dr Christine Nicol is Professor of Animal Welfare at the Royal Veterinary College - University of London, UK. Professor Nicol is internationally renowned for her research on poultry and equine welfare, for which she has received many awards, including from the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW), the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE), the European Association for Animal Production (EAAP), the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and the British Veterinary Association (BVA). As well as many high-cited journal articles, Professor Nicol has written or contributed to a number of books and is a current member of the Stevin Prize Committee.

Linda Keeling is Professor of Animal Welfare at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. She has a background in ethology and manages an active research group dealing with basic and applied questions related to welfare assessment, affective states in animals and effects of early experience on later behaviour. She is coordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Animal Welfare Science in Sweden and a member of the EU Platform on Animal Welfare.