Winners announced for AVMA's 2026 Spring Animal Welfare Assessment Contest

(SCHAUMBURG, Illinois) May 7, 2026-The fourth annual spring virtual Animal Welfare Assessment Contest (AWJAC) took place this past April 25-26, with registrants from across North America and Europe 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 2026 virtual contest scenarios included show rabbits and free range broilers.

The expert panel for this event included Drs. Maria Juarez Byrd, Sayrah Gilbert, Colleen Roman, Nicola Rooney, Gregory Archer, Leonie Jacobs, Nancy Reimers, Shawna Weimer.

Individual winners in the Undergraduate Junior Division were:

• 1st place: Daisy Pursell, Rutgers University
• 2nd place: Alex Perlov, University of Tennessee
• 3rd place: Gabrielle Lawhon, University of Tennessee
• 4th place: Aspen Wu, Rutgers University
• 5th place: Amani Thomas, The Ohio State University

Individual winners in the Undergraduate Senior Division were:

• 1st place: Stephanie Tomshaw, Rutgers University
• 2nd place: Max Wu, Rutgers University
• 3rd place: Jacob Bazer, Rutgers University
• 4th place: Alana Wolfson, University of Connecticut
• 5th place: Aditri Singh, Rutgers University

Individual winners in the Graduate Division were:

• 1st place: Morgan Marquardt, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 2nd place: Lyndsay Ritzler, The Ohio State University
• 3rd place: Elizabeth Schafer, The Ohio State University
• 4th place: Kaitlyn Maclin, Colorado State University
• 5th place: Teresa Carlson, The Ohio State University

Individual winners in the Veterinary Division were:

• 1st place: Kyra Davidson, The Ohio State University
• 2nd place: Rachel Hirota, University of California-Davis
• 3rd place: Finnerel Schaeffer, University of Minnesota
• 4th place: Victoria Michel, University of Missouri
• 5th place: Cami Wright, Colorado State University

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, presenting partner for the past nine 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 [email protected].