Le Centre du Mouton

The Centre offers an environment conducive to field studies, thanks to its infrastructure, equipment and the close collaboration between its multidisciplinary team and researchers. The Centre welcomes not only researchers affiliated with the University of Namur, but also external researchers and firms, from diverse backgrounds such as veterinary or human medicine, agronomy and biology. In addition, students regularly join the Center for a project as part of their dissertation.

The site is also an educational farm, crucial to the training of veterinary students at the University of Namur. From the first year of their bachelor's degree, they benefit from direct access to the farm's facilities and animals for practical courses and internships, enabling them to apply the theories learned in the auditorium in a real-life professional context. Examples include learning how to handle and clinically examine domestic animals, or taking part in lambing and perinatal care of ewes and young lambs.

Internships are also organized for students enrolled in courses provided by other institutions: veterinary and agronomy sciences, agriculture, bioengineering, etc. Every year, the Center welcomes secondary school students in agricultural training for preparations for the Ovinpiades, organized by the actors of the Ovin-Caprin Network.

The Center is also a sheep breeding site, producing lamb meat and breeding stock of the Île-de-France breed. This activity not only provides a practical framework for research and teaching, but also enables innovative methods to be implemented and tested directly in the field. The flock and pastures are managed with particular attention to animal welfare and biodiversity.

Finally, the Center contributes to the dissemination of knowledge to breeders and professionals in the sector. As a member of the Ovin-Caprin Network, it offers services to breeders. These include specific veterinary services such as semen quality analysis of breeding rams and vasectomy of rams used to synchronize ewe heats, or making the site available as a wool collection point.

The Center's ambition is to become a focal point for researchers, students and breeders, where knowledge is shared and developed in a collaborative manner.