The 27th World’s Poultry Congress was a collaborative effort of three North American Branches of WPSA, Mexico, USA and Canada. It was held in Toronto Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, July 13th to the 17th, 2026. Thank you for the tremendous support of the sponsors as well as the volunteers that made this event a success! Thank you to all the presenters for agreeing to share the experience and knowledge. They were essential for the delivery of a high quality scientific program. Finally thank you to the WPSA membership for trusting we would provide a memorable conference four years after the exceptional congress held in Paris France.
Representatives from the industry, academia and government with interest in poultry science descended on Toronto on Monday July 13th. The opening plenary session of six high profile speakers delivering talks focused on various aspects of sustainability of the poultry industry was well attended in advance of the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony itself was highlighted by announcement of the recipient of the MacDougall Award followed by celebrations the newest to be awarded the honour of being named to the International Poultry Hall of Fame. The MacDougall Award went to Roel Mulder (The Netherlands). There were five inductees into the Hall of Fame which included, Julie Roberts (Australia), Werner Bessei (Germany), Yitzhak Malka (Israel), Roel Mulder (The Netherlands) and Rüveyde Akbay (Türkiye). This was followed up by the awarding of The Paul Siegel Scientific Award to Susan Lamont (USA) and two individuals were named to the Education Award, Jaydip Rokade and Sandeep Saran (India). The WPSA awards concluded with the Cliff Carpenter International Assay Competition winners. There were five individuals selected from this competition, they included, Domenica Medina (Canada), Muhammad Zee Waqar (Pakistan), Alejandro Moreno León (Spain), Pasindu Ashen Epa Arachchi (Sri Lanka) and Barath Mallavarapu (USA). The awards celebrations were framed on either side with performances from a group of Indigenous dancers and musicians from the Red Sky group. This was appreciated as way to recognize the culture and the contributions of the first people of North America. It was a stunning display that left lasting memories from the opening ceremony for all.
Over the course of the following three days, scientific sessions were held as the program was assembled from the submission of 743 abstracts that were accepted. The daily program consisted of 523 oral presentations with an additional 40 Lead Off speakers to start the sessions in 18 topic areas that were identified by the program committee. There were 267 presentations in the form of a poster that allowed for discussion on a personal level throughout the duration of the conference including a social events planned around the poster area. The posters were located strategically within exhibition area populated with booths from the sponsors. In total, 62 countries were represented by the people who made presentations, with 292 presentations from Europe, 260 from the Americas, 220 from Asia, 83 from Africa and 27 from Oceania.
One of the features of the Congress the opportunity to support the student and young scientist program. There were 15 students and 15 young scientists selected from a highly competitive field of applicants to attend the Congress. There were 12 countries represented by these individuals, including: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, India, Israel, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Togo, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The student program participants toured a commercial egg grading facility, a solar powered egg laying farm, and a commercial processing plant in the southern Ontario region. There were a number of social activities organized for these participants to allow them to get to know each other and others in the WPSA. These individuals our aspirations to us all as they begin their careers in poultry science.
The gala dinner was hosted in the Royal Ontario Museum which provided in-house activities that were supplemented with gourmet food and entertainment. It was a memorable evening for all that participated.
The closing ceremony provided an opportunity to recognize excellence in performance by the students at the meeting. Thanks to 40 volunteers that served as judges for the student presentations we were able to present awards in partnership with our Gold Sponsor Zoetis to recognize the top 15 oral presentations and top 4 posters by students. The 19 students came from 7 different countries. The closing ceremony was also a chance to say farewell and to take a glimpse at upcoming meetings. I hope we can all get reacquainted at the nest WPC to be held in Tokyo in 2030.
Bruce Rathgeber | Chair of the organising committee of the 27th WPC