Françoise Wemelsfelder, MSc, Ph.D., is a biologist and Professor in animal behaviour and welfare at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her main research interest is the study of animals as whole sentient beings, bringing insights from philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, as well as social anthropology, into the scientific assessment of animal emotion and well-being. This interest led her to develop, in collaboration with SRUC colleagues and research teams around the world, a methodology called Qualitative Behavior Assessment (QBA), which enables observers to describe and quantify emotionally expressive qualities that emerge from the way animals engage with their environment (e.g. relaxed, curious, lethargic, anxious).

Françoise works with colleagues in different fields and industries to apply QBA in research and as a practical tool for welfare management in farm, zoo, companion, and recently also wild animals. Her experience of cross-disciplinary thought was much enriched by a sabbatical year (2011) in the department of social anthropology at the University of Aberdeen. Françoise lectures in animal sentience and consciousness, has contributed to various animal welfare expert advisory panels, and received a number of academic awards including the 2017 Scientific Creativity Award of the International Society for Applied Ethology.