Episodes

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 th...

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 We...

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 #WheresMu...

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 ...

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 c...

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 bot...

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 ...