Description
Lesley Jessiman is a psychologist working with the animal behaviour and welfare team at Scotland Rural University College (SRUC). She is working with Dr Emma Baxter on the AWF-funded project "Increased culling of neonatal piglets – investigating the impact of super-prolific breeding programmes on human health and associations with animal care" which aims to investigate the impact of culling of surplus neonatal piglets on the mental health and wellbeing of stockworkers and how this relates to animal care.
Q: Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Lesley, and I am a psychologist working with the animal behaviour and welfare team at SRUC. My research background is in the cognitive neuropsychology of typical and pathological ageing, namely in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. I have also worked in the field of elder abuse, and in older adulthood, social isolation and loneliness.
I moved to Canada in 2010 where I worked in the Centre for Education and Research in Ageing and in the psychology department at the University of the Fraser Valley, in British Columbia.
I returned to Scotland in 2022 where I was very lucky to be offered a research position with a great team of animal welfare scientists.
Q: What led you to work on this project?
As a psychologist, I have always been interested in mental health and wellbeing. When I started working with the animal welfare team, I learned about the One Welfare model, which really sparked my interest in terms of how animals can influence our mental well-being and how our mental well-being can impact the animal. So, when Emma Baxter offered me the opportunity to work with her on this project I immediately said “yes”!
Q: What made you apply for the AWF grant?
This is an under-researched area in the pig sector and AWF is enabling us to gather some insightful pilot data.
We applied for this grant because our interests aligned perfectly with AWF’s funding call. Our research addresses the AWF’s call within the Breeding for Better Welfare theme of focusing on enabling human behaviour that leads to animals experiencing a better life. Thus, our project looked at the side effects of breeding for large litter sizes from the point of view of those facing daily on-farm challenges, including making decisions about euthanising young stock. This is an under-researched area in the pig sector and AWF is enabling us to gather some insightful pilot data.
Q: What fueled your passion to study the topic?
The multidirectional relationships between humans, animals and environments are such a fascinating field of research. Having a better understanding of the effects of these relationships, both positive and negative is clearly of great value. So it was both the theoretical and real-world implications of this topic that fuelled my interest and intrigue in the topic.
Q: What is your favourite aspect of the project?
I had several “favourites”. I have always been interested in lifespan development so learning about how our research volunteers came to work in the field was extremely interesting to me. Learning about how careers unfolded also provided an important context for analysing the data overall.
As a psychologist, I also have no background in animal welfare so each time I do a project like this, I have the opportunity to learn about key animal health and welfare issues. I also got to meet a lot of really lovely people. This has been probably one of my favourite projects to work on.
It was both the theoretical and real-world implications of this topic that fueled my interest and intrigue in the topic.
Q: Why is this project important?
When we were writing the proposal for this project, I instantly felt that it was an important area of research. That belief has increased tenfold since actually interviewing our participants. Larger litters can cause some significant problems for pigs and humans. Without understanding the issues people face, we can do little to provide effective support and inform education and policy where relevant.
There were of course instances where effective strategies for human and pigs were also identified, which also provides valuable information about best husbandry practices and effective work-wellbeing balance.
Q: What do you enjoy the most about your job?
Being able to apply psychology theory to improve animal welfare issues is quite a unique opportunity for a psychologist. My psychology friends and colleagues are always asking me what it is I do, and this is promptly followed by “you are so lucky!”.
I also really enjoy being part of an interdisciplinary team. I think for us to make any real change; animal welfare scientists and social scientists must work together rather than work in silos, which is perhaps more commonplace.
Q: What did you want to achieve with your project?
The aim of this initial project was an exploration of what the key human and pig welfare concerns are in terms of dealing with large litters. We believe we have met this aim such that the data has provided us with important insight into the pig farm industry; highlighting areas where improvements could enhance both animal welfare and human well-being.
It is our goal to expand this work, seeking further funding which would allow us to achieve the end goal of translating the evidence into real-world positive change. Casting our participant net wider and drawing on the evidence we have to date will without question add rigour to our research and help us achieve our overarching aims.
Q: What advice would you give to someone looking for a similar career?
As I don’t have a background in animal welfare science, it is probably a little difficult for me to give animal welfare career advice. However, I would say that for anyone who has a keen interest in eliciting positive human behaviour change to improve animal welfare then taking some psychology courses, or working with psychologists and other social scientists is always a great idea. Likewise, if you are a psychologist hoping to move into the field of animal welfare then working as part of a multidisciplinary team will prove invaluable. There are clearly lots of parallels between animal and human psychology so having a foot in both domains can be extremely interesting and informative.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
I just would add a big thank you to AWF for funding this project and to all of the people who participated in our study. And thank you to Emma for driving to the farms as I would have undoubtedly gotten us lost!