The Ratty Professor
Dr Manuel Berdoy, an Oxford academic, has twice beaten major production companies to top wildlife film awards.
His film, entitled The Laboratory Rat: A Natural History, was only made as a teaching aid. However, it recently won the Parthenon Entertainment trophy along with 3,000 Euros at the Living Europe Festival, having already won an award at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film festival in the US in September. Dr Berdoy told The OxStu that he "was surprised even to be nominated and even more so to win" having only entered after being persuaded to do so by a friend.
The film aims to raise awareness of the needs of animals kept in captivity by showing their natural instinctive behaviour, which is still present when they are released into a 'wild' environment even if generations have been bred in captivity. Dr Berdoy said he "hopes this will help to improve animal welfare in the future."
22nd Jan 2004