Dr Dan O'Neill - What makes a good life? Part 1
What makes a good life? Part 1
In this episode of the Animal Welfare Conversation, we meet Dr Dan O’Neill of the RVC. Dan is well known in the veterinary profession for his work with VetCompass and animal welfare. Dan is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and has received many awards in recent years from BSAVA, Kennel Club Charitable Trust, and was awarded the RCVS Impact Award in 2025.
In this 2 part podcast episode we examine an animal’s capacity for a good life and the opportunities they get to fulfil that. In this eye-opening episode, Dr. O'Neill challenges traditional veterinary approaches, arguing that good animal welfare extends far beyond the absence of disease. He presents a groundbreaking framework based on two key elements: an animal's capacity for a good life and their opportunity to fulfil that capacity. Through compelling examples, including the concerning rise of brachycephalic breeds in the UK we see how human choices can significantly impact animals' ability to live naturally and happily.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Dan O’Neill , Associate Professor Companion Animal Epidemiology, RVC
MVB BSc(hons) GPCert(SAP) GPCert(FelP) GPCert(Derm) GPCert(B&PS) PGCertVetEd FHEA MSc(VetEpi) PhD FRCVS
Following 22 years in general veterinary practice, Dan moved to academia to gain a PhD and now co-leads the RVC VetCompass™ Programme.
With over 170 papers, he also co-authored the books ‘Breed Predispositions to Disease in Dogs and Cats’ and ‘Health and Welfare of Brachycephalic (Flat-faced) Companion Animals’.
He is a founding member of the UK Brachycephalic Working Group, the UK Legal Advisory Group on Extreme Conformation in Dogs and the International Collaborative on Extreme Conformation in Dogs.
Dan was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2018, the BSAVA Blaine Award for Advancement of Small Animal Science in 2019, the International Canine Health Award from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust in 2021, the UK All Party Parliamentary Group ‘Phillippa Robinson Dog Welfare Award’ in 2024 and the RCVS Impact Award in 2025. Dan is currently developing his Innate Health Concept as an application for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) that aims to shift the UK dog demographic progressively away from extreme conformation over the coming decade.
Dr Mary Fraser
Vet, Medical Educator, Company Director
Dr Mary Fraser BVMS MRes PhD CertVD MAcadMEd MIoD PGCHE FHEA FRSB FRCVS
Mary has had a varied career, starting out in mixed practice, then focussing on veterinary dermatology, veterinary nursing, medical education, animal welfare, owner support and clinical decision making. She was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2017 for Meritorious Contributions to Practice and is a past Chair of the RCVS Fellowship Science Advisory Panel.
Working both as a clinician and academic, Mary has a PhD in immunological aspects of canine atopic dermatitis and the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Dermatology, worked in referral practice, and also set up her own first opinion/referral small animal practice in rural Perthshire.
In between this, she had the opportunity to work in veterinary nursing at both FE and HE levels becoming a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Member of the Academy of Medical Educators, and alongside Simon Girling, setting up the Advanced Programme in Veterinary Nursing of Exotics a postgraduate training programme for veterinary nurses that has now been running for over 20 years and trained over 1000 vet nurses.
She is a accomplished researcher and author, with over 100 published articles, book chapters, books and papers. Areas of work include veterinary dermatology, medical education, preparing students for practice, the challenges of clinical decision making, providing better support in practice for clients with sight loss, and the application of evidence based medicine in practice.
During her time as a vet…
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