Animal Welfare Conversations – Details, episodes & analysis

After a slightly longer break than we had anticipated, I'm really happy to let everyone know that we're back!

With so much happening in the world of animal welfare it's difficult to know where to start, but we're going to try. 

Join Mary this week for a short introduction to the new series.  

Our first full episode of this new series goes live on 16th May, when we catch up with Dr Toby Trimble to find out more about the importance of education in relation to animal welfare. More information about that episode to follow in a few days. 

It’s the end of the year, so we took the chance to review the podcast. I still can’t believe that we’ve being doing this for a year now and had the chance to talk to so many people, about the great work they’re doing in relation to animal welfare.

It would be great, if you get a chance to go through the back catalogue and listen to some of the older episodes, but we wanted to highlight a few different things.

1. Education – this has been discussed in every single episode – in relation to the veterinary profession, owners, the public, government and just about everyone!
2. Charities are essential for animal welfare – we caught up with Dogs Trust, SSPCA, USPCA and Humanimal Trust and found out more about the scope of work that they undertake
3. People – animal welfare is inextricably linked to the welfare of people. Where there are problems with society, then there are problems with animal welfare.

You can find out more about some of our guests at:

Dogs Rehoming & Dog Rescue Charity | Dogs Trust

Home | Humanimal Trust | One Medicine for Humans and Animals

Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals | SSPCA

USPCA | Protecting All Animals

The Leading UK Dog Magazine - Dogs Today Magazine

Saving Wildcats | Scottish wildcat conservation and recovery | Saving Wildcats

Veterinary Osteoarthritis Alliance – Providing information and education to veterinary professionals in the field of osteoarthritis

All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group

University of Glasgow - Postgraduate study - Taught degree programmes A‑Z - Advanced Practice in Veterinary Nursing

Vet Sustain

BVA policy - Animal welfare strategy

Books by our guests:

One Welfare in Practice: The Role of the Veterinarian - 1st Edition –

Dr Matt Morgan

Through A Vet’s Eyes by Dr Sean Wensley | The home of non-fiction publishing

Thank you to everyone for taking part in the podcast, and for listening - and we're looking forward to more conversations in 2025. 

Sneak preview!

We are still finalising things, but I wanted to let you know that Animal Welfare Conversations is launching a new award for Animal Welfare. 

The Alex Fraser Medal for Animal Welfare will be awarded on an annual basis to someone who has shown outstanding commitment to improving the lives of animals. 

More information about how to nominate someone (or put yourself forward for consideration) will be available soon, but I wanted to let you know that this will be happening later in the year, so you can start thinking about your animal welfare heroes now. 

More information will be on the website soon and you if you sign up to the podcast newsletter then you'll be the first to know about things. 

In the meantime we've been recording new interviews with some amazing guests, and the podcast will be back to normal in a few weeks, after the summer break!

Welcome to the next episode of the Animal Welfare conversation. This week we’re joined by Dr Bronwyn Orr, who is a veterinary surgeon in Australia.

Dr Bronwyn Orr has a particular interest in animal welfare, completing a Master of Science majoring in International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law from the University of Edinburgh and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from University of Sydney. She is a Member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists by examination in Animal Welfare, and has spent much of the past decade of her career working in animal welfare policy, research and in frontline settings including shelters and abattoirs. She was President of the Australian Veterinary Association between 2022-2023 and last year was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to explore veterinary workforce policies overseas. She is based in Canberra and in late 2023 took over CAWSEL, Courses in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law held in Cambridge annually for the past thirty years.

Find out more about Bronwyn’s career journey and her diverse experiences in animal welfare, policy and education. Join us as we consider the current challenges for animal welfare in Australia, including industrial farming,  political polarization, lack of progressive policies, and resistance to change; find out more about undertaking a Churchill Fellowship, and the problems of recruitment and retention within the veterinary industry and the impact of this on animal welfare.

We hope you enjoy the animal welfare conversation.

Links and Further Information:

Churchill Trust

Vet Matters

In this episode we catch up with Dr Marc Abraham OBE, BVM&S MRCVS, or ‘Marc the Vet’ as he’s usually known, a multi-award-winning veterinary surgeon, author, broadcaster, and animal welfare campaigner. 

Marc qualified from Edinburgh University in 1995, and during one nightshift at his Brighton out-of-hours emergency clinic in 2009 treated some poorly pups, then decided to campaign against irresponsible dog and cat breeding practices such as puppy farming. He founded awareness campaigns #WheresMum and Pup Aid, led the successful ‘Lucy’s Law’ campaign in Parliament to ban commercial third-party puppy and kitten sellers, e.g. pet shops. With Lucy’s Law now legislation in England, Wales, and Scotland, this means all UK dog and cat breeders are accountable. 

Marc is also the co-founder and secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG) in Westminster, was responsible for sourcing rescue pup Dylan for 10 Downing Street, appears regularly in the media, plus visits local schools chatting with pupils about caring for animals and looking out for one another. 

Marc was recently awarded the OBE for Services to Animal Welfare by Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, presented to him by His Royal Highness King Charles III at Windsor Castle. 

Marc has just finished filming a documentary called ‘Dogspiracy’, available to stream this autumn, which looks at the puppy trade in the UK, US, and takes a behind-the-scenes look at campaigning. 

Marc’s latest book ‘#BeMoreMosquito’ lists the tools required for grassroots campaigners to make practical and lasting change, from online petitions to social media, meeting politicians to engaging with select committees; all effective methods of raising awareness, changing behaviour, improving legislation, and sometimes all three. 

Marc currently practices at an independently-owned veterinary practice, near Brighton, East Sussex, and in his downtime enjoys sea swimming, walking on the South Downs, and supporting Brighton & Hove Albion.

Join us as we find out more about Marc’s work, including influencing legislation to bring about real and lasting change for animals.

We hope you will join the animal welfare conversation.

Useful links

Marc the Vet: www.marcthevet.net 

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/marcthevet 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarcTheVet/  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcabraham/ 

All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG): www.apdawg.co.uk

Be More Mosquito - How you can campaign and create change

As mentioned in the podcast, this episode was recorded before the general election was called. So, unfortunately legislation relating to the banning of imported pups under 6 months and puppy smuggling and the import of dogs with mutilations bills were dropped; but the pet theft reform bill and the live export of sheep and cattle bills were passed. 

The Assistance dog and accessibility meeting that is referred to has already happened.

In this episode we catch up with Beverley Cuddy, editor of Dogs Today Magazine. 

Beverley Cuddy has been the editor of Dogs Today magazine since in launch in 1990 when it was part of the Daily Mail group. From childhood she was dog mad and worked at the weekly show dog papers before six long years at the Kennel Club trying to reform them from within! She has campaigned for a better dog world for decades - some of the successes include an end to quarantine and the start of Pet Passports, the end to cosmetic tail docking, the first ever take your dogs to work day, Lucy’s Law to take the dog out of the pet shop and most recently the Pet Theft Abduction Bill. Her most recent project is The Bark Angel - a fledgling tech start up to change the way the public adds a dog to their family. To make finding ethical breeders and rescues just much simpler and more attractive than what currently happens online.

Beverley shares her life with Honey a young Cocker Spaniel and Betty a 10-year-old rescue dog that is a cross between an Old English and a Golden Retriever. And a long-suffering husband and three grown up boys that also love dogs. Beverley’s life story has been told in the magazine on the Confessions of a dog lover column on the back page and is collated in the free book called The Devil Wears Dog Hair - which is also the name of her occasional podcast. Beverley often appears on TV and radio talking about dogs - what else?

Link here to Confessions Book with links to free copies to Dogs Today and more: https://midd.me/OABH

Join us as we talk about personal experiences and insights of advocating for animal welfare, speaking up for the underdog and protecting the interests of animals.

We hope you will join the animal welfare conversation.

Further information:

Dogs Today Magazine

Lucy's Law

The Bark Angel

Companion Spaniel Project - Facebook

Cavalier Project

In this episode we meet Sam Fontaine MSc PGCAP BSc DipAVN(Med) RVN FHEA SFRET

Sam qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2002 and after a short time in general practice, joined the University of Glasgow’s Small Animal Hospital as their first dedicated oncology nurse in 2003. She spent 16 years in the SAH working both in the oncology service, and latterly as the deputy nursing services manager, where she co-led a team of over 50 veterinary nurses and veterinary care assistants.

During her time in clinics, Sam gained her RCVS Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing in Medicine and an MSc in Veterinary Clinical Studies, where she investigated the role of the serum biomarker C-reactive protein in dogs with lymphoma.

In 2017 Sam launched the MSc, PG Diploma, and PG Certificate in Advanced Practice in Veterinary Nursing, and the PG Certificate was accredited by the RCVS in 2019 for the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing. This fully online postgraduate programme has evidence-based veterinary nursing and quality improvement at its core, and Sam and her team have welcomed students from across the globe. She enjoys seeing veterinary nurses on the programme becoming empowered as they develop a skill set that supports them to become champions of change within their practice.

Sam was awarded an RCVS Knowledge Award in 2021 for promoting Quality Improvement within veterinary nurse education. She has a keen interest in research, having published on a range of topics, and she is currently undertaking a professional doctorate in education.

Sam is a strong advocate for the advancement of the profession and believes that veterinary nurses can contribute significantly to improving patient safety and to expanding the veterinary nursing evidence base.  

Links to further information

Advanced Practice in Veterinary Nursing PGCert / PGDip / MSc

RCVS Knowledge Natter

An Introduction to the Advanced Practice in Veterinary Nursing Online Programme

In this episode we meet Emma Ruggles RVN CertVNECC APVN (Wildlife and Zoo Animals) L3CertSAHydro. 

Emma has worked in the veterinary industry for 10 years and qualified as a registered veterinary nurse in 2016, and has always had a passion for small animal emergency and critical care and wildlife conservation. After 1 year of working as an RVN in practice she started the CertVNECC qualification, and became a Locum RVN as of June 2018. Since then as well as working as a locum across the UK in both referral and general practice, they have travelled/worked and volunteered abroad in South Africa, the Cook Islands, Australia and most recently Thailand with the Wildlife Friends Foundation.

Emma was interested in diversifying their nursing career and so undertook 6 months training and then qualified as a Canine Hydrotherapist in March 2022. Emma loves the consistency of investing in your patients and seeing them back for regular therapy sessions, forming a connection with the animal and the client as well. It is so rewarding to see your patient make positive progress with a rehab plan that you put in place. Emma continues to learn a lot about hydrotherapy and truly believes it is a key step in improving the welfare/wellbeing of the patients we see in practice.

Clients are seeking surgical alternatives and/or they invest in surgery and want to achieve the best possible recovery for their pet and so will seek a programme of aftercare and rehabilitation. Conditions such as osteoarthritis and management of the geriatric patient are being more widely discussed amongst clients and with that  the rehab sector can work with the vet and owner to provide the best possible care plan for management of these patients.

Further information*

Canine Arthritis Management – information and resources on caring for your arthritic dog, courses, and products for both pet owners and veterinary professionals.

Canine Arthritis Management – Arthritis in Dogs

Blue Bear Animal Rehabilitation – Copford in Colchester Essex

Home | Colchester | Blue Bear Animal Rehabilitation

Hydrotherapy training

Courses | K9HS Courses | Canine Hydrotherapy Courses

BVNA Article on Running Senior Pet clinics in practice.

Running Senior Clinics: A marathon or a sprint? - British Veterinary Nursing AssociationBritish Veterinary Nursing Association (bvna.org.uk)

Canine Hydrotherapy Association – providing more information on Canine Hydrotherapy and its benefits.

Canine Hydrotherapy Association - Canine Hydrotherapy Association (canine-hydrotherapy.org)

National Association of Registered Canine Hydrotherapists - providing more information on Canine Hydrotherapy and its benefits

NARCH | National Association of Registered Canine Hydrotherapists - About Us

Ruggles, E. (2023) Alongside a career as a veterinary nurse – the road to patient rehabilitation. VNJ 38(5) pp 25-31.

Thanks to Girling & Fraser Ltd for enabling this podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, please follow us and subscribe to our mailing list. 

*Links are provided for information purposes only. Animal Welfare Conversation does not endorse any links provided here for information. 

In this episode we chat to Lacey Pitcher RVN about the world of veterinary nursing, and that impact of that on animal welfare. 

We consider the importance of understanding socio-economic factors in animal welfare, sharing personal experiences and emphasizing the need for empathy and understanding towards pet owners. It’s likely that we’re going to see a shift in the veterinary profession's approach to care, and we consider the importance of collaboration, empathy, and contextualized care. Trust and relationships were also discussed as crucial in veterinary medicine, with a focus on building trust with clients through open communication and nurturing relationships with clients and their pets.

Lacey Pitcher RVN Biography

Lacey Pitcher RVN is a veterinary nurse with a very squiggly career. Having grown up in South Wales and worked all over the UK, Lacey has used her career passport in many ways. Lacey is passionate about connecting people and about providing accessible education and support, to improve not only animal welfare, but also to maintain the human-animal bond. Lacey currently works as the editor of VN Times, a locum RVN and volunteers at a few different outreach projects.

Thanks to Girling & Fraser Ltd for enabling this podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, please follow us and subscribe to our mailing list. 

In this short intro episode, we highlight new episodes for May, otherwise known as Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month. So, we're focussing on the impact of veterinary nursing on animal welfare. 

In our first 3 episodes we chat to Lacey Pitcher of the VN Times, Emma Ruggles, hydrotherapy vet nurse, and Sam Fontaine, programme lead for the MSc in Advanced Veterinary Nursing Practice at Glasgow Vet School. 

The first new episode goes out on 17th May so we hope you will join #TheAnimalWelfareConversation.