About the Center

Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy logo

The mission of the Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy is to conduct and encourage the study of complex issues surrounding the changing role and impact of animals in society. The Center supports the development and dissemination of research driven policies, programs and practices that benefit both people and animals.

Work conducted by the Center is based on the tenets that animal well-being matters, that animal and human well-being are linked, and that both are enhanced through improved understanding of human-animal relationships.

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Purpose

The Center for Animals and Public Policy (CAPP) was founded in 1983 at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The Center’s mission is to conduct and encourage scholarly evaluation and understanding of the complex societal issues and public policy dimensions of the changing role and impact of animals in society. Work conducted by the Center is based on the tenets that animal well-being matters, that animal and human well-being are linked, and that both are enhanced through improved understanding of human-animal relationships. CAPP offers a venue for balanced, informed and respectful discussion of the difficult issues in animal ethics, policy and practice that face the veterinary profession and society.

Direction

The ability of the Center to reach out across the Cummings campus and beyond has been enhanced by the establishment of a CAPP Advisory Board—made up of Cummings faculty and MAPP program alumni—and by collaboration with a distinguished group of CAPP Faculty Fellows from Cummings School and other institutions and organizations.

Support

Many of the activities conducted through the Center for Animals and Public Policy are made possible by the generous support of Elizabeth A. Lawrence Endowed Fund