The Rosen Family Foundation, Inc. has donated $1 million to support UW-River Falls’ Humane Handling Institute. This is the largest program endowment in the university’s history.
A representative from the Foundation stated, “The Rosen Family Foundation is pleased to support UWRF’s Humane Handling Institute.” They acknowledge its pivotal role in providing education in humane livestock handling and stunning for meat industry personnel. Recognizing the importance of humane and safe practices to animal welfare, worker safety, and also the mental and physical well-being of meat industry workers, is commendable, vital, and also consistent with our mission to promote and enhance the quality of life in the communities we serve.”
Kurt Vogel is the UWRF director of the Humane Handling Institute. He along with Ashlynn Kirk, program manager, thanked the Rosen Family Foundation, Inc., sincerely.
“The Rosen Family Foundation’s remarkable and also generous investment ensures long-term viability for the institute. This in turn amplifies the development and adoption of innovative technologies and techniques in animal handling, stunning, and also research for the industry,” Kirk said.
Research projects completed at the UWRF Animal Welfare Lab, founded by Vogel, reveal insights into industry needs.
“By tracking humane handling enforcement actions issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), we consistently identified stunning as a critical area of need for additional training and development,” Vogel said. “This initiative grew into the Humane Handling Institute. It also grew our mission to advance animal welfare and worker health and safety in this critical step in meat production.”
HHI is meeting a real and critical need in the meat industry. It also is preparing students and workers with the skills they need to become the next generation of industry leaders.
UW-River Falls Chancellor Maria Gallo expressed gratitude for the transformational support of the Rosen Family Foundation. “This commitment is an impactful endorsement of UWRF’s humane handling advancements. It strengthens the university’s reputation as a champion for meeting real-world needs. It also offers students exposure to the ways that industry relationships are made and problems are solved.”
