Despite large populations of small ruminants in the country, welfare challenges such as poor handling, limited disease recognition, and inadequate welfare assessment remain insufficiently addressed in veterinary training.

This project aims to strengthen practical education in farm animal welfare by establishing a model teaching unit for sheep and goats at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine from the University of de Las Américas (UDLA) in Chile, which offers an undergraduate programme in Veterinary Medicine as well as Master´s degree in Animal Welfare and Applied Ethology.

To bridge the gap between theory and practice, a sustainable 100 m² facility will be developed to house 20 animals (10 sheep, 10 goats), incorporating climate mitigation, automated watering, and environmental enrichment. The unit will function as a permanent hands-on learning space where students can develop ethograms, implement enrichment strategies, and conduct welfare assessments.