Sentience in fishes: Safeguarding fish welfare across different contexts

In this webinar, Prof. Sneddon explores the expanding scientific understanding of aquatic animal sentience and its implications across academia, industry, and policy. The presentation examines how recognizing the cognitive and emotional capacities of fishes can inform research priorities, influence production practices, and guide evidence-based regulations. Participants will gain insights into the latest findings on fish sentience, current challenges in applying this knowledge, and opportunities to strengthen welfare standards across diverse sectors that interact with aquatic animals. About the speaker: Professor Sneddon is an award winning scientist that has worked for over two decades on topics that have advanced fish health and welfare and used her research to drive the agenda for the improved welfare of fishes. Sneddon is an internationally recognized world expert on fish welfare and has been invited to develop training resources, participate in workshops, and deliver educational events and talks to veterinarians as well as technical care staff and academics. She is also regularly invited to give talks at academic conferences, laboratory animal meetings, animal law conferences, public events and to industry and other stakeholders. Sneddon currently leads her team, the Aquatic Animal Welfare (AAW) group, at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden investigating how to improve the way we treat fishes, decapod crustaceans and cuttlefish. This is a must-attend event for professionals, researchers, and decision-makers across industry, academia, and policy who are committed to advancing fish welfare and integrating scientific insights on sentience into practice.