RIVER FALLS — Kurt Vogel, UW-River Falls professor of animal welfare, said understanding how to humanely handle animals is a skill that is critical to the meat industry.
And with a gift of $1 million from the Rosen Family Foundation, he said their Humane Handling Institute, or HHI, would be supported as they continue to grow the program.
“The Rosen Family is involved with a variety of agriculture-related business, so the sorts of things that help rural communities are the kinds of things that the Rosen Family Foundation is really interested in trying to help,” said Vogel. “This initiative really fits in that space, because it doesn’t just help animal wellbeing, but it also helps the wellbeing of people who are going to be handling those animals.”
The money will go towards the largest program endowment in the university’s history, which is named the Rosen Family Humane Handling Institute Endowment.
Vogel, as HHI’s director, said those that have been heavily involved in the program will see it continue as they work to grow the core of the program in the long term.
The HHI program was created as a means of strengthening the skills of meat industry employees while simultaneously improving animal welfare and increasing consumer trust in meat processing establishments.
When it comes to handling animals in this industry, it is important to follow approaches which are the most humane practices, especially as companies abide by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Ashlynn Kirk, HHI program manager, said they train people, in an environment where no live animals are used, and answer their “whys and hows” of the industry.
Kirk said to picture yourself in the training programs. With how important this part of the meat industry is, aiming to boost the employees’ skills allows them to work directly with some of the industry’s employees.
“We meet people where they are at,” she said. “We come with no judgment; we just come with resources.”
She continued, and said, “I think the value that is added from their employees and their plant managers coming to this training is priceless.”
Vogel said it is fair to say that their program is one-of-a-kind. As part of their approach to educating HHI students, he said they like to work in a training space as soon as possible.
In that regard, it allows the instructors to work directly with people who take on these responsibilities of the meat processing industry as they aren’t just telling them what to do. It is a tough responsibility that is often overlooked, so Vogel said they managed to find a way to touch these workers’ lives in a meaningful way.
In a press release from UWRF, Chancellor Maria Gallo said, “We are grateful for the transformational support of the Rosen Family Foundation that establishes UWRF’s largest program endowment… This commitment is an impactful endorsement of UWRF’s humane handling advancements and strengthens the university’s reputation as a champion for meeting real-world needs while offering students exposure to the ways that industry relationships are made and problems are solved.”
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