Winners announced for AVMA’s 2025 spring Animal Welfare Assessment Contest
(SCHAUMBURG, Illinois) April 28, 2025—The third annual spring virtual Animal Welfare Assessment Contest (AWJAC) took place April 26-27, with registrants from across North America, Europe, and Asia completing assessments of the welfare of animals in multiple settings.
Participants included undergraduates, veterinary students, graduate students, postgraduates, veterinary technicians, and AVMA member veterinarians. This virtual event, offered in addition to the annual fall AWJAC, was designed to provide practice in ethical reasoning, encourage objective assessment of animal welfare on the basis of scientific theory and data, promote critical thinking, and improve participants’ communication skills. Participants were afforded a structured opportunity to practice their assessment skills and present their findings to expert scientists and veterinarians in a logical and persuasive manner.
Species covered in the 2025 virtual contest scenarios included gestating sows and a cownose ray touch tank in a zoo.
The expert panel for this event included Drs. Monique Pairis-Garcia, Cara Haden, Scott Kramer, Jen-Yun Chou, David Miller, Bree Karns, Aimee Berliner, and Zarah Deutsch.
Individual winners in the Undergraduate Junior Division were:
- 1st place: Aditri Singh, Rutgers University
- 2nd place: Bethany Pannell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 3rd place: Tom Herman, Colorado State University
- 4th place: Lily Nuss, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 5th place: Grace Regier, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Individual winners in the Undergraduate Senior Division were:
- 1st place: Laura Sarabando, Rutgers University
- 2nd place: Evie Anderson, Colorado State University
- 3rd place: Jacob Bazer, Rutgers University
- 4th place: Dominic Uddowlah, The Ohio State University
- 5th place: Angely Morocho, Rutgers University
Individual winners in the Graduate Division were:
- 1st place: Sophia Maddocks, Rutgers University
- 2nd place: Lyndsay Ritzler, The Ohio State University
- 3rd place: Cesar Velasquez, Colorado State University
- 4th place: Kacie Leonard, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- 5th place: Emma Hamilton, Colorado State University
Individual winners in the Veterinary Division were:
- 1st place: Finnerel Schaeffer, University of Minnesota
- 2nd place: Anna Mueller, University of Minnesota
- 3rd place: Ellie Lindauer, University of Minnesota
- 4th place: Victoria Michel, University of Missouri
- 5th place: Mo Usavage, University of Minnesota
The Animal Welfare Assessment Contest was founded at Michigan State University in 2001 as the Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest and was modeled after traditional livestock, horse and meat judging competitions. Merck Animal Health, lead educational funder for the past eight years, provides support to ensure today’s Animal Welfare Assessment Contest continues to bring students together from across the United States and internationally.
To learn more about the Animal Welfare Assessment Contest, visit AWJAC.org.
For more information on this event, contact Michael San Filippo, AVMA senior media relations manager, at 847-732-6194 (cell/text) or msanfilippo
avma [dot] org (msanfilippo[at]avma[dot]org).
Serving more than 108,000 member veterinarians, the AVMA is the nation's leading representative of the veterinary profession, dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of animals, humans and the environment. Founded in 1863 and with members in every U.S. state and territory and more than 60 countries, the AVMA is one of the largest veterinary medical organizations in the world. Informed by our members' unique scientific training and clinical knowledge, the AVMA supports the crucial work of veterinarians and advocates for policies that advance the practice of veterinary medicine and improve animal and human health.