Organisation
The University of Extremadura was founded in 1973 and has seventeen
centres in which they undertake teaching for 43 certificate and
degree programs. University of Extremadura employs 676 professors,
1330 assistants and research grantees, 688 administration and
services personal and he have 23600 students into the different
career. The other hand University of Extremadura organise the
research through 41 departments and 146 research groups. The
research group on Animal Welfare works since 1990 on different
aspects of animal production, being Iberian pig an others animal
into de agro forestry system named “dehesa”.
Main task in project
UNEX has a supporting role in WP 0 to 4.
Experience and network
In 2002 the group started to work in the animal welfare research
field. The first project in this line was “Influence of animal
welfare conditions to Iberian pig production” (2PR03B028), performed
in the period 2003 to 2006. Currently work is done in the field of
animal welfare within the project “Animal welfare identification
parameters in Iberian pig breeding in different housing systems”
(RTA2006-00096-C02-01), financed by I.N.I.A. and within the project
“The behaviour of the Iberian pig in different breeding systems:
Animal welfare and reproduction” (3PR05A070).
University of Extremadura has a general agreement with Universities
of Latin America, especially with the University of the Republic (Monteviedo-Uruguay)
and National University of Rosario (Argentina).
Staff members
Prof. Miguel Angel Aparicio Tovar (Ph.D.) is head of the Research
Group Animal Welfare of University of Extremadura. He has 23 years
of research experience in animal production. He has coordinated 5
projects financed by the regional government and private
institutions, has participated in others 5 projects financed by
different publics institutions and now is involved in 3 projects. He
is the author of a new idea to monitor the free grazing of pigs,
cows and sheep using GPS-GPRS technologies. This idea received the
E-mobility 2006 award. He is academician of the Spanish Royal
Academy of Veterinary Science from 2005.
Dr. Juan de Dios Vargas (Ph.D.) works as a teacher at the Faculty of
Veterinary Medicine (University of Extremadura) since 1992 and he
has a 16 year research experience on technical and economical
analysis of agrosilvopastoral systems. Actually, he is involved in
two animal welfare research proyects of iberian pig, as he is
integrated in the Research Group on Animal Welfare (BAPORCINO).
Dr. Luis Prieto (Ph.D.) has a 14 years research experience in
extensive animal production. He is a researcher of Consejería de
Infraestructuras y Desarrollo Tecnológico (Extremadura Government)
at La Orden-Valdesequera experimental property. He is an expert in
iberian pig production systems and, actually, is coordinating an
iberian pig welfare project financed by INIA (National Institute of
Agrarian Research). He is researcher of the Research Group on Animal
Welfare (BAPORCINO)
Mr. Jurgens Robledo and Mr. Francisco J. González are two new
researchers of the Research Group on Animal Welfare (BAPORCINO).
They are working now on their doctoral thesis about iberian pig
welfare during lactation and weaning periods.