Dr Alexandra Whittaker

Biography/ Background

I qualified as a veterinary surgeon from The University of Cambridge in 2001. After a spell in small animal general practice I moved into the research/academic environment to work as an animal welfare adviser and lecturer. During my career to date, I have developed a keen interest in welfare science and its application in veterinary decision making, and ethics as applied to the veterinary field. My main clinical interests are in comparative medicine, and veterinary anaesthesia/analgesia. I undertook training (mainly in the UK) within the disciplines of animal welfare and laboratory animal science. I subsequently attained UK veterinary specialist qualifications in animal welfare science, ethics and law, and laboratory animal science.

Qualifications

MA (Hons)-  Master of Arts (University of Cambridge, UK)
VetMB- Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (University of Cambridge, UK)
MANZCVS (animal welfare)- Member of Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists
DWEL- Diploma in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law (RCVS, UK)
DLAS- Diploma in Laboratory Animal Science (RCVS, UK)
MBA - Master of Business Administration (CSU)
GCOL (HE)- Grad.Cert Online Learning (UAdel)
LLB - Bachelor of Laws (currently enrolled, UNE)

Teaching Interests

I currently coordinate the course "animal handling and husbandry" for the first year veterinary and animal science cohort and the new  animal science elective course "animals and the law". I also teach into various other courses including: laboratory animal science;principles of animal welfare,behaviour and ethics;and animal health.  

Research Interests

I am interested in physiological and behavioural measures indicative of animal welfare, particularly in the context of intensive animal production and laboratory animal management. Current work is looking at housing strategies for sows in the context of social grouping and strategies to minimise aggression. My other main interest is in the use of analgesics in clinical practice and as a refinement strategy for routine animal husbandry procedures. Specific areas of interest include:

• Effects of routine animal management on well-being- especially inputs of space and enclosure complexity on behavioural and physiological indicators of well-being.
• Effects of husbandry refinements on well-being.
• Assessment of positive welfare outcomes.
• Pain assessment in laboratory animals and comparison of therapeutics.
• Use of animals in teaching- refinement strategies.
• The legal status of animals- effects on attitudes towards them and their treatment.

Publications

Alexandra L Whittaker, Gail I Anderson. A policy at the University of Adelaide for Student Objections to the Use of Animals in Teaching. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 2013; 40(1);52-57.

A.L.Whittaker, G.S.Howarth, D. Hickman. Effects of space allocation and housing density on measures of well-being in laboratory mice: a review. Laboratory animals, 2012;46:3-13.

Robyn Terry, William HEJ van Wettere, Alexandra L Whittaker, Paul J Herde, Gordon S Howarth. A proof of concept study in swine to investigate the feasibility of intestinal sucrase activity measurement utilizing the non-invasive 13C- sucrose breath test. Comparative Medicine,2012;62(6):504-507.  

Alexandra L. Whittaker, William H. Van Wettere and Paul E. Hughes, 2012. Space requirements to optimize welfare and performance in group housed pigs-a review. American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 7: 48-54.

A.Whittaker, D. Noonan, F. Chew. Investigation of training and development options for research and teaching animal users- a case study. Animal Technology and Welfare, 2012;11 (1):21-29. 

Expertise for Media Contact

Categories	Animals and veterinary science
Expertise	Animal welfare; animal law; laboratory animals
Notes	Veterinary specialist qualifications in animal welfare sciences, ethics and law and laboratory animal science.

Entry last updated: Friday, 8 Mar 2013