Meet the researchers: Niamh Mahon and Beth Clark

Niamh Mahon is an environmental social scientist, with an interdisciplinary background, working in the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences (SEGS) group at the James Hutton Institute. Beth Clark is Lecturer in Food Marketing at the Centre for Rural Economy in Newcastle University, working on public perceptions towards animal welfare and meat consumption. Their AWF-funded research, entitled "Breeding animals for resilient feet: On-farm decision-making and the role of culling in sheep lameness management and breeding strategies" explores challenges associated with culling to manage lameness and the barriers and facilitators to implementing changes on-farm.

Q: Can you introduce yourselves??

Beth: Hi, I’m Beth and I’m a Lecturer in Food Marketing in the Centre for Rural Economy at Newcastle University. I am interested in a range of topics related to food production and consumption. I’m particularly interested in how human behaviour impacts animal welfare, whether through how animals are raised, supply chain standards or consumer consumption practices. I work with a range of different stakeholders across the food supply chain.

Niamh: Hi, I’m Niamh, I am a social researcher within the Social, Economics, and Geographical Sciences department at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen.? As part of this role, I work on a wide range of projects with national and international partners on topics related to food, farming, and wider rural issues. I am particularly interested in working with people who keep farm animals (this includes research with people who wouldn’t necessarily identify as farmers), investigating the complex and context-specific relationships between humans and non-human others and exploring how these impact the ongoing welfare of animals.

We are working closely with the National Sheep Association to ensure our work is relevant to UK sheep farmers and the findings can be used in practice to improve the welfare of British sheep

Q: What are you currently working on and what does it involve?

We are currently working together on an AWF-funded project exploring farmers’ on-farm decision-making regarding sheep lameness, and the role that culling and breeding strategies play within this. In this research, we explore why culling may be difficult or challenging for farmers, and how farm advisers, such as vets, might better engage with farmers to address these difficulties. Our approach and findings are structured around the Behaviour Change Wheel framework, which provides a structured means of considering a range of different factors known to influence human behaviour.

To date, this research has involved designing and running a series of focus groups with sheep farmers and vets across the UK to hear more about their experiences of sheep lameness and how they manage this endemic animal health and welfare issue. We are working closely with the National Sheep Association to ensure the relevance of our work to UK sheep farmers and to ensure the findings can be used in practice to improve the welfare of British sheep and the farmers that keep them.

Findings from the FIELD project indicated several barriers and facilitators to lameness management including the application of recommended best practices.

Q: What led you to work on this project? What made you apply for the AWF grant?

We previously worked together on the interdisciplinary ‘FIELD’ project which explored the persistence of endemic health and welfare conditions in livestock in the UK. This included investigating lameness in both cattle and sheep. Findings from the FIELD project indicated several barriers and facilitators to lameness management including the application of recommended best practices. Whilst breeding strategies and the use of culling were touched upon within this research, they were not explored in depth. ?Thus, as the FIELD project came to an end, we realised that we had several remaining questions and areas for further exploration in relation to lameness and how it is thought about and managed by farmers. This line of questioning also arose in part from a recent paper exploring the use of human behaviour frameworks within lameness management.?

The AWF grant call aligned with our interests in the management of sheep lameness, human behaviour (Beth) and human-animal relationships (Niamh). It seemed like a great opportunity to build on and explore the questions that emerged from the FIELD project in greater depth. The grant size offered by the AWF also enabled us to undertake a reasonably sized project that could run alongside our other teaching and research commitments. We also really appreciated that the AWF was keen to engage with social scientists and social science research within the broad remit of animal welfare.

?The AWF grant call aligned with our interests and was a great opportunity to build on and explore the questions that emerged from the FIELD project in greater depth.

Q: What fuelled your passion to study the topic?

Beth: I have a longstanding interest in human behaviour, including how human behaviour can impact animal health and welfare, and how we can better understand human behaviour and its influences to subsequently improve animal health and welfare.?

Niamh: My interest in exploring sheep lameness came about during the FIELD project – I hadn’t realised what a complex, context-specific and at times emotive subject it could be until I started talking to farmers, vets, and members of non-farming publics about it. ?Drawing from these experiences, I think social scientific research has much to offer in understanding how lameness is and could be better managed to improve the health and welfare of farm animals and the wellbeing of the people who keep these animals.?

?Social scientific research has much to offer in understanding how lameness is and could be better managed to improve the health and welfare of farm animals and the wellbeing of the people who keep these animals.

Q: What is your favourite aspect of the project?

Beth: I really enjoy both the project fieldwork and the collaborative working elements of the project. The focus groups have been really enjoyable so far and it’s great to hear so many different perspectives on a topic – as well as have the participants question each other.

Niamh: I agree with Beth! Talking to farmers and vets about the farm animals they work and interact with is my favourite part of the project. It’s really interesting and inspiring to hear from these individuals about how much they care for their animals and that they really want to continually improve their practice in order to provide for the on-going welfare of their animals.

Q: Why is this project important/necessary?

Lameness has been and continues to be a challenge for the UK sheep industry. The reduction in the incidence of sheep lameness is listed as a key priority within the Defra Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, making this a timely topic to explore. Farm animal lameness has significant implications for these animals' health and wellbeing, causing pain and suffering in animals, as well as economic implications for farm businesses. Lame sheep are also very visible to members of the public, and so lameness has important reputational implications for the farming sector too. Lameness is thought to affect 90% of English sheep flocks and although lameness levels have reduced, they are still higher than the <2% target introduced in 2011 by the Farm Animal Welfare Council. These are all highly compelling reasons why our project is timely and important.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about your job as a researcher??

Beth: I really enjoy getting to work with a range of different people on varied topics connected to food and farming. Working with industry stakeholders means that I can find out about current challenges and potential solutions, and subsequently that I get to do some really applied research which I particularly enjoy.? I’m also fortunate that I am based within an interdisciplinary research centre, within a natural sciences school. This means I get to hear about and engage with researchers from lots of different disciplines and find out more about the work and methods that they use.

Niamh: I very much enjoy the privilege of being able to follow my research interests and delve deeply into a particular topic, methodology, or body of literature. It is especially rewarding when the research you’re working on produces novel insights that can be used to improve or enhance farming practice or provide a new perspective on an existing problem. In my career this has been especially true when working in groups that operate across disciplinary boundaries and alongside stakeholders in the problems that I am researching – there is so much that we can learn from each other. ?

Q: What would you like to achieve with your research/project?

We would like to have a better understanding of the nuances surrounding the management of sheep lameness within the UK, particularly in relation to the human element within this. We’re not going to have come up with all the answers to reducing or eradicating lameness entirely through the project, but we are hopeful we’ll have several outputs that we can take forward for future discussion.

Q: What advice would you give to someone looking for a similar career?

Beth: Find good colleagues that you look forward to working with and that you can ask all the ‘daft’ questions to, especially when working on interdisciplinary projects. Also don’t be afraid to work on a variety of projects. The time-management can be difficult, but the skills and broader subject awareness you get on these have been really useful for career development.

Niamh: I would recommend taking some time to fully explore all the possibilities open to you to really find out what you are interested in. This job can be hard work, so you need to really enjoy what you are researching. This could be a particular topic, species, or a methodology that could be applied to a range of topics. Don’t be afraid to ask other researchers questions about what they do and how they do it to find this out for yourself – every day is an opportunity to learn!