From May 6th to May 7th, we held a two-day WG2 workshop in Rostock/Dummerstorf, Germany. The aim of the workshop was to discuss current and potential future methodologies, with a focus on their suitability for assessing positive animal welfare as defined by WG1. This workshop represents a significant step toward a key WG2 COST deliverable, due in October 2025. A total of 16 participants attended, including representatives from all WG2 subgroups and members of WG3 (3.1 which is working on bridging WG2 and WG3). The scientific organisers were Linda Keeling and Laura Webb, with local organisational support provided by Christian Nawroth.
The workshop took place across two venues over the course of two days. On Day 1, participants were welcomed in the seminar room of the Radisson Blu Hotel, which offered panoramic views of Rostock and opportunities to explore the city’s distinctive Baltic architecture during breaks. On Day 2, the group convened at the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology in Dummerstorf. The programme concluded with a guided tour of the institute’s experimental pig and goat facilities, showcasing setups designed to assess (positive) animal welfare.
On the first day, discussions centred on the terms “predominantly positive mental states,” “resilience,” and “competence”—all key components of Positive Animal Welfare (PAW) as outlined in the recently published definition paper by Rault et al. (2025). Most of the dialogue took place in smaller breakout groups, with findings later shared and discussed in the full assembly. These discussions laid the groundwork for the second day’s breakout group brainstorming sessions, which focused on identifying existing or potential future frameworks and methodologies to assess these core concepts in farm animals. Day 2 was also dedicated to exploring the possible structure and content of the deliverable and concluded with assigning specific tasks to attendees and outlining the next steps—potentially leading to a scientific publication.
Over the course of the two-day workshop, key conceptual discussions unfolded within an interdisciplinary group—intense, yet rewarding for all participants. These exchanges have set the course for completing the third and final deliverable of WG2.
By Christian Nawroth
