The scholarships were established in 1986 as a memorial to the late Dorothy Sidley MBE, who was General Secretary of the HSA for 48 years.
They support students and industry trainees undertaking research projects that are aimed at improving the welfare of food animals during transport, in markets or at slaughter.
Undergraduate and postgraduate students in agricultural, veterinary or meat sciences, or trainees in the livestock, meat and fish industries in the UK, are eligible, as are students registered at universities outside the UK that have a UFAW/HSA University ‘LINK’ person. Each Scholarship is for up to £2,000.
Applicants are encouraged to design research projects in areas they are particularly interested in.
Projects now being undertaken by current scholars include: examining the pathophysiology of captive-bolt stunning of alpacas; investigating reasons for carcase rejection during religious slaughter; and a study of the effect of handling methods on broiler hip joints.
For 2014 the HSA is also making some suggestions for research areas including: the benefits to poultry welfare of the different small-scale electrical stunners used on-farm; the associations between transport variables and fish welfare; and the constraints to the adoption of modern methods of stunning livestock at slaughter in countries that have not done so.
Closing date for applications for the 2013 Scholarships is 28 February 2014. Further information and application forms are available at the HSA website.
