In 1789 philosopher and professor of Law, Jeremy Bentham, famously argued that it was the ability to suffer and not the ability to reason or to talk that should be the benchmark for decisions relating to how we treat animals. Welcome to the Animal Behaviour and Welfare course My name is Professor Nat Waran and I am the Director of the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education at the University of Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary studies, here in bonnie Scotland. Whilst the idea that animals such as Peanut and Bella, here, might not have feelings seems nonsensical to most people, we have to appreciate that it is only relatively recently become accepted that animals are sentient and therefore feel things like pain and fear and stress as well as more positive emotions like happiness and pleasure, all of which are important for their welfare. Animals play a huge part in the lives of many people and although we rely on them for all aspects of our well-being, for food, draft power, medical advances, clothing, sport, as well as for pleasure, companionship, protection and comfort, often their quality of life is questionable. By the end of this course we would have gone well beyond those early scientists and philosophers who believed that animals like Latchino were like machines and we would have explored why animal welfare is so internationally, politically and socially important and how enlighting a scientific approach to the study of animal welfare can be. We look forward to welcoming you to the course.