Hi I'm
Dr Emma Baxter

I am a research scientist in SRUC’s Animal Behaviour and Welfare Team which is located in Edinburgh, Scotland. I have almost 25 years of research experience specialising in the welfare and behaviour of pigs with projects covering challenges throughout the pig’s life cycle from optimising piglet survival and designing high welfare farrowing systems to investigating alternatives to CO2 stunning at slaughterhouses.

I started my academic career by graduating with a Zoology degree in 2000, before undertaking a MSc in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at the University of Edinburgh. After working for SRUC for a few years as a research assistant on projects looking at the impacts of prenatal stress in pigs and sheep, I had the opportunity to undertake a PhD. This investigated the behavioural and physiological indicators of piglet survival in a range of farrowing environments, including outdoor farms. I have since worked on multiple projects in the area of high welfare farrowing systems and piglet survival, including designing systems, optimising management and genetic selection strategies as well as supporting and monitoring commercial uptake. Throughout my career I have prioritised translating research into practice and work closely with industry with all sectors of the supply chain, providing consultancy and specialising in outreach. For example I have developed micro-learning applications for stockworkers to instil good-to-better practice in welfare improvements on farm and I co-created and manage Free Farrowing for those interested in alternative high welfare farrowing and lactation systems.

I also co-created and manage PAW - Positive Animal Welfare, which provides a resource for understanding positive animal welfare (PAW), how it can be assessed and improved and links to a selection of PAW research projects that our team and others are involved in. I’m an active member of a number of national and international committees and provide advice to NGOs and industry bodies such as the RSPCA’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Group for pig standards, the National Pig Association, the Pig Veterinary Society and the Red Tractor.