Introduction: animal welfare in veterinary medical education and research.

On November 8–11, 2009, an Animal Welfare Symposium titled ‘‘Swimming with the Tide: Animal Welfare in Veterinary Medical Education and Research,’’ which was jointly organized and hosted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), was held at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.a An international line-up of speakers presented key information on the role of the veterinary profession in promoting animal-welfare-related education, research, and advocacy to more than 225 attendees. An animal’s health, its conscious experiences, and its ability to engage in species-typical behaviors were all recognized as contributing to its welfare, and consequently, the study of animal welfare requires the collaboration of researchers and practitioners from many disciplines, both scientific and nonscientific.