In August, the Royal Society of Biology welcomed a new Member Organisation (MO), the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW).

UFAW is an international independent scientific and educational animal welfare charity and membership society.

Their vision is a world where the welfare of all animals affected by humans is maximised through a scientific understanding of their needs and how to meet them.

UFAW promotes an evidence-based approach to animal welfare by funding scientific research, supporting the careers of animal welfare scientists and by disseminating animal welfare science knowledge both to experts and the wider public.

Dr Huw Golledge, chief executive and scientific director of UFAW, said: “We are delighted to become members of the Royal Society of Biology. At UFAW, we promote animal welfare as a scientific discipline, and we look forward to contributing evidence-based animal welfare advice and guidance to the single unifying voice for biology.

“Through our work, we aim to discover what matters to animals, develop scientific solutions to animal welfare problems and disseminate evidence-based animal welfare information. Our vision and mission align closely with that of the Royal Society of Biology, and we look forward to working with the RSB and other membership organisations to improve life for all.”

Dr Mark Downs CBiol CSci FRSB, chief executive of RSB, welcomed UFAW, stating: “We are so pleased to have UFAW on board with us at RSB. It is great to have a fantastic organisation that uses an evidence-informed approach to developing standards, the research agenda, and practice in animal welfare.

“UFAW has an admirable track record of funding scientific work that translates to concrete positive impacts for animals, for example the original development of the 3Rs (reduction, refinement and replacement) principles in laboratory animal research, for which they are recognised globally.

“In addition, we look forward to helping develop coordination and communication with and between UFAW, their stakeholders and other MOs.”

If your organisation is interested in becoming a MO, go to our website or contact Matt Webb for more details.