Stella Maria Huertas Canén

Stella Maria Huertas Canén is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master in Animal Health at the University of the República Oriental del Uruguay. From the beginning of her academic life she specialized in the study of meat quality and later in her career on the welfare of production animals in a country with one of the highest beef meat production and export rates in the world. She is the coordinator of the Animal Welfare Program of the Veterinary Faculty of University of the República Oriental del Uruguay and Assistant Professor of Biostatistics within the same University. Since 2009 Stella is the coordinator for Uruguay of the OIE Collaborating Center in Animal Welfare and Livestock Production Systems for the Americas, a consortium made of institutions from Chile-Uruguay-Mexico. Stella Maria is also a member of the integrated ad hoc group of the OIE. She has been a pioneer in issues related to the welfare of production animals in her country and in the region, and has led important research projects that have contributed to creating knowledge, generating human resources, spreading good practices to all stakeholders, including farmers, farm staff, transporters and personnel of the meat industry. She has authored multiple publications related to silvopastoral systems, animal welfare, and productivity.