Draft:Christine Nicol

Christine Nicol is Professor of Animal Welfare at the Royal Veterinary College since 2018, specialises in Behaviour and Animal Welfare. Her focus is on chickens, but she has also done compelling work with horses, and other farm animals. She received the ISAE Honorary Fellowship in 2021.

Selected Publications and Research Interests
Professor C. Nicol’s earlier work focused on Behavioural responses of hens with restricted mobility and how this affects their respective welfare. She has focused on the effect that different housings have on the overall well-being, health and behaviour of hens.(1) Findings from Nicol’s work helped to persuade the UK to stamp out battery cages and require that egg producers provide laying hens with larger, more comfortable cages where they are able to employ normal behaviours such as nesting and scratching, thus allowing more natural behavioural responses. Nicol has written several papers such as "From unpleasant to unbearable,(8)" "The ethics of laying hen genetics(9)," and "The effect of experience of ramps at rear(10)," these papers show Nicol’s determination and interest in not only understanding but also improving the welfare of animals, focusing particularly on poultry.(11) Furthermore, her research has explored the cognitive and behavioural aspects of farm animals(3). Ethical consideration on animal research and experimentation has been an important area of research for Professors Christine work.(12)  Understanding such aspects is a fundamental part of bettering the animals living conditions(6), as well as enhancing the adaptability of certain farming practices. Professor Nicol has had a huge impact on the development of different methods and criteria for assessing animal welfare. (4) Her influence has caused a change in livestock farming, and has helped establish scientifically sound standards for the evaluation of well-being in farm animals. (5) Professor Nicol has managed to influence many policies and legislations related to the treatment of farm animals.(7) Nicol has published several research papers that asses animal husbandry issues, these papers examine the impact on husbandry practices of animals, and how said practices affect their welfare (13). This paper investigates the effect of care practices and management on animals well being, and how this is attached to the cognitive abilities of animals. In the realm of animal cognition, Professor Nicol has contributed to research that shows chickens' cognitive abilities. (14) This research delves into the cognitive process and how animals learn in the early life stages. Additionally Christine has researched how consumer perception of animal welfare in food production (15). This shed light on how the public values and views how animals are treated in the agricultural setting (16). Animal housing and enrichment, this was exemplified by Nicol when she explored the impact of housing conditions and environmental enhancements while still keeping animal well-being as a main focal point.(17) Investigating topics related to animal pain and stress, has helped future researchers and farmers to mitigate discomfort and stress in animals (18). Finally, Nicole has focused her research on animal preferences and their processes when making decisions, aiming to understand the choices and behaviours of animals in a variety of contexts. All of these research areas collectively contribute to the known knowledge of animal welfare, the impact of husbandry, consumer perception and cognitive abilities of animals’ psychological and physical well-being.

Occupation and Awards

Professor Christine Nicol’s work is extremely integrative, spanning the fields of veterinary science, animal behaviour, animal science, and animal ethics, with a strong focus on the improvement of animal welfare in several contexts, focusing primarily in agricultural and research settings. Her publications can be found at The Royal Veterinary College web page (17). Nicol has received numerous awards starting with; the Prince Laurent Foundation prize for work on equine welfare in 2001, the UFAW medal for Outstanding Achievement in Animal Welfare Science in 2012, the International Society for Applied Ethology 50th Anniversary Wood-Gush Memorial Award, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) 50th Wooldridge Memorial Medal, the European Association for Animal Production (EAAP) A.M. Leroy Fellowship Award for outstanding scientific contribution. She was the representative for the union of Animal Behaviour at a lecture in 2017. Professor Christine gave the 2020 Gordon Memorial Lecture at the Western Political Science Association (WPSA) Meeting.(19) Nicol is currently a member of the RSPB ethics advisor committee, the Swedish Formas grant panel, and the Stevin Prize Committee. Professor Nicol was honoured to become an honorary fellow at the International Society for Applied Ethology in 2021.(2)