Animal Welfare and Disease Control

The goal of this section is to conduct research related to veterinary science within the fields of bioethics, animal behaviour and epidemiology. The research focuses on identifying and describing patterns, associations and relationships, and using this knowledge to improve animal welfare, sustainability and profitability within animal production.

The subjects of animal welfare, prudent use of antibiotics, sustainable production systems and profitability for farmers are the core of the research in this group. This creates value for society in general because it develops and evaluates novel ways of optimizing animal welfare and profitability at both the farm and national level, including prioritising the prudent use of antibiotics. 

Studies in animal behaviour and bioethics provide a foundation of basic knowledge, to create a better understanding of the interaction between people and animals. 

Studies of disease spread and the effectiveness of control measures help farmers, vets and other people in the field to reduce spread of diseases. Moreover, all of the mentioned disciplines are combined in the One Health approach, improving the sustainability of co-existence for humans and animals at the same time. 

RESEARCH GROUPS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Book on evaluation of One Health initiatives: https://www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/book/10.3920/978-90-8686-875-9One Health combines the disciplines of animal and human health and ecosystems. This is a handbook that provides an overview of concepts and processes as well as guidance on how to implement the One Health approach.

  2. Lahrmann, H. P., Hansen, C. F., D’Eath, R., Busch, M. E., & Forkman, B. (2018). Tail posture predicts tail biting outbreaks at pen level in weaner pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 200, 29–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.12.006This study shows that lowered tail postures in pigs can be utilized to predict tail biting outbreaks at pen level. 

  3. Sandøe, P., Corr, S. A., Lund, T. B., & Forkman, B. (2019). Aggregating animal welfare indicators – Can it be done in a transparent and ethically robust way. Animal Welfare 28(1): 67-76. Serious challenges arise within the process of creating an index for animal welfare. In this study, we focus on the ethical aspects of this problem and discuss the different ways to proceed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This section contributes knowledge, articles, and results within its core areas to the website Dyreetik.dk.

Dyreetik.dk is a web site run by the Faculty of Health at the University of Copenhagen. The person responsible for the site is Peter Sandøe, professor of animal ethics. 


An English version of  Dyreetik.dk is found at AnimalEthics.ku.dk. The aim of the site is to share insights and reflections regarding animal ethics and animal welfare. It contains academic papers and other academic publications which as far as possible are made available in an open access format. Furthermore it contains introductory texts aimed primarily at students, professionals and university teachers from veterinary and animal science and other branches of biology.

Small image of webpage with Link til animalethics.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The section’s areas of expertise are

Bioethics:

  • Veterinary ethics and science theory
  • Science theory for students of the production animal sciences
  • Responsible Conduct of Research (mandatory PhD course)

Ethology

  • Ethology
  • Forensic medicine and welfare evaluation
  • Applied ethology

Veterinary epidemiology

We teach methods for investigating causes of the distribution of diseases, as well as methods and tools for combating diseases in populations. This includes the following courses:

  • Basic statistics and epidemiology
  • Epidemiology I: Planning a study
  • Epidemiology II: Analyzing continuous, count and dichotomous data from observational studies
  • Epidemiology III: Analysis of clustered data – with emphasis on veterinary- and animal science applications
  • Diagnostic Test Evaluations
  • Ad hoc courses

Interdisciplinary and applied areas

  • Animals, humans and society
  • Health and Welfare
  • Equine nutrition and management
  • Master of Veterinary Public Health: Risk Analysis of Animal Health and Food Safety
  • Herd- and Societal Health
  • Differentiation: Heart diseases
  • Differentiation: Biomedicine
  • Differentiation: Diseases in Family Animals
  • Differentiation: Production animals
  • Veterinary Forensic Medicine
  • Master of Veterinary Public Health: Disease Outbreak Management
  • Master of Veterinary Public Health: Disease Control and Dynamics - in a One Health Setting
  • Master of Veterinary Public Health: Animal Health Economics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project: Robuste kalve

Photo of calve laying in hay

The aim is to promote the breeding of robust calves by producing knowledge and tools for optimal health management of calves, with a focus on the first months of life, so that calf mortality and antibiotics-
consumption can be lowered.
Read more about "Robuste kalve" (in Danish)

Project: ACROBAT

Photo of calf and chicken

Reduced use of AntimiCROBials in cAttle and poulTry. Read more about the ACROBAT project

Danish Udder Health Center

DUHC logo

Hans Houe

Head of Section

Professor Hans Houe
Mail: houe@sund.ku.dk

Phone: +45 353-33585
Address:
Grønnegårdsvej 8
DK-1870 Frederiksberg C

Group/project members

Internal researchers

Name Title Phone E-mail
Agger, Jens Frederik Gramstrup Associate Professor Emeritus +4535333013 E-mail
Apenteng, Ofosuhene Okofrobour Assistant Professor +4535325466 E-mail
Bjerrum, Anders Senior Consultant +4535324654 E-mail
Boklund, Anette Ella Associate Professor +4535330847 E-mail
Bouquet, Alban Etienne René Visiting Student   E-mail
Brichet, Nathalia Associate Professor +4535337814 E-mail
Bruun, Camilla Vibeke Sichlau Associate Professor +4535333067 E-mail
Bødker, René Senior Researcher +4535325262 E-mail
Christensen, Knud Arnbjerg Associate Professor Emerita +4524804179 E-mail
Christensen, Ole Fredslund Borg Guest Lecturer   E-mail
Christiansen, Mette Bakhaj Laboratory Technician Trainee +4535331961 E-mail
Christiansen, Stine B. Senior Consultant +4535333075 E-mail
Cirera, Susanna Associate Professor +4535333050 E-mail
Conrady, Beate Associate Professor +4535322309 E-mail
Corneliussen, Niels Munch Academic Staff   E-mail
Czycholl, Irena Associate Professor +4535329677 E-mail
Denwood, Matt Professor +4535332307 E-mail
Eriksson, Kari Bækgaard PhD Fellow +4535327185 E-mail
Farre, Anders Michael No job title VIP +4535327220 E-mail
Forkman, Björn Professor +4535333581 E-mail
Fredholm, Merete Professor +4535333074 E-mail
Godtfredsen, Sissel Johanne Guest Researcher   E-mail
Guldbrandtsen, Bernt Professor +4535334784 E-mail
Gussmann, Maya Katrin Special Consultant +4535337510 E-mail
Henningsen, Maj Beldring External, Ph.d Student +4535323708 E-mail
Hinrichsen, Caroline Ignatz Teacher´s Assistant   E-mail
Houe, Hans Professor +4535333014 E-mail
Ibragimov, Emil Postdoc +4535332440 E-mail
Jakobsen, Minna Laboratory Technician +4528756961 E-mail
Jensen, Dennis Schultz Attendant +4540472789 E-mail
Jensen, Helene Ane PhD Fellow   E-mail
Jørgensen, Claus Bøttcher Associate Professor +4535333064 E-mail
Karlskov-Mortensen, Peter Associate Professor +4535333430 E-mail
Kirkeby, Carsten Thure Senior Researcher +4535337215 E-mail
Kjær, Lene Jung Associate Professor +4535337290 E-mail
Kofod, Laura Benoni Academic Staff +4535329970 E-mail
Kristensen, Jeanette PhD Fellow +4535334415 E-mail
Ladewig, Jan Associate Professor Emeritus   E-mail
Liu, Yangfan PhD Fellow +4535323023 E-mail
Lotze, Sisse Research Assistant   E-mail
Luigi, Maria Postdoc +4535323354 E-mail
Lützen, Annika Thorup Teacher´s Assistant   E-mail
Madsen, Mogens Special Consultant +4535324338 E-mail
Mahler, Tina Bahrt Neergaard Laboratory Technician. +4528756961 E-mail
Mandel Briefer, Roi Assistant Professor   E-mail
Meyer, Iben Assistant Professor +4523983879 E-mail
Michelsen, Anne Marie Academic Research Staff +4535322475 E-mail
Nauta, Maarten Johannes Visiting Teacher   E-mail
Nielsen, Camilla Kirketerp Assistant Professor +4527143148 E-mail
Nielsen, Liza Rosenbaum Professor +4535333015 E-mail
Nielsen, Søren Saxmose Professor +4535333096 E-mail
Olsen, Abbey Assistant Professor - Tenure Track +4535335675 E-mail
Otten, Nina Dam Associate Professor +4535331520 E-mail
Petersen, Louise Hedegaard Teacher´s Assistant   E-mail
Petersen, Mette Marcher Teacher´s Assistant   E-mail
Pinheiro Marques, Ana Rita Postdoc +4535323361 E-mail
Proschowsky, Helle Friis Associate Professor +4535327895 E-mail
Rasmussen, Philip Assistant Professor +4535329423 E-mail
Rauer, Carl-Emil Risum Attendant FU +4535336211 E-mail
Reimert, Mossa Merhi PhD Fellow +4535324135 E-mail
Sandøe, Peter Head of Section +4535333059 E-mail
Scharling, Frederik Stig Research Assistant +4535335186 E-mail
Skarbye, Alice Puk Postdoc +4535337680 E-mail
Skovlund, Cecilie Ravn Postdoc +4520270506 E-mail
Stelder, Jonno Jorn External   E-mail
Sun, Jiahong PhD Student   E-mail
Svennesen, Line Assistant Professor +4535337728 E-mail
Sørensen, Anna Skytte Attendant FU   E-mail
Thuesen, Ida Sofie External, Ph.d Student +4535325237 E-mail
Troldborg, Nicoline Sisse Teacher´s Assistant   E-mail