Dear Sir/Madam, Last year at the 2024 ECS conference a workshop was held discussing the welfare of cetacean bycatch and entanglement, and how pathology can help to resolve some of the issues and provide greater understanding. The proceedings from the workshop are now available on the ECS website at the link below;
https://www.europeancetaceansociety.eu/63 The following adapted workshop abstract could be used to inform MARMAN subscribers of the content of the proceedings; Research into the welfare impact of bycatch on marine mammals has until only relatively recently come to the fore driven by concerns raised by animal welfare organisations, the public and the scientific community. An issue commonly cited in recent publications is a relatively poor understanding of bycatch pathophysiology, which is needed to help provide an accurate assessment of welfare impacts on individuals. The lack of observation of the vast majority of bycatch events means pathology has an important role in helping answer some of the questions welfare experts have. The diagnosis of some bycatch events continues to be problematic and little has been done to collate the information to provide better understanding of the pathophysiological processes involved. The workshop aimed to bring together interested parties to discuss the pathology and pathophysiology of bycatch leading to a greater understanding of welfare impacts, highlight new areas for research and assist in building links between pathologists and welfare experts. A suggested injury impact evaluation scoring system was presented and a Delphi style approach was employed during the workshop, to assess the value of this scoring system and garner expert opinion on its applicability to chronic entanglement cases. If you need any further information, please feel free to contact me. Regards Mark Mark Wessels BVetMed, MRCVS Veterinary Pathologist mmpath2...@outlook.com<mailto:mmpath2...@outlook.com>
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