Trustees

Michael Appleby BSc PhD is a scientist specialising in behaviour, husbandry and welfare of farm animals. Publications include Animal Welfare (2011) and nine other books as author/editor, and Mike has lectured in more than 30 countries. From 2001 he worked for The Humane Society of the United States, then for World Animal Protection, based in London. Dr Appleby was on the Farm Animal Welfare Committee until 2016. He is Visiting Professor at Plymouth University and Scotland’s Rural College, and Honorary Fellow of Edinburgh University and the International Society for Applied Ethology. In 2017 he was awarded an OBE for services to animal welfare.

Cambridge graduate David has spent most of his career in general practice, with the last 20 years specializing in pig work as the senior partner of a Bedford practice. David is a former president of the Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) and currently responsible for PVS publications, higher education and cpd. He is a member of the advisory committee of the RSPCA Freedom Foods and veterinary adviser to the technical committee of the Red Tractor/ Assured British Pigs Scheme.

Dr Simon Doherty is the Animal Science & Aquaculture Specialist for the UK Department for International Trade. He provides expert advice on trade and investment associated with animal health and aquaculture – from companion animal nutrition and livestock genetics, to veterinary pharmaceuticals and aquaculture installations.

He is a certified aquaculture veterinarian, an accredited CowSignals Trainer, and an Honorary Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast. He has been an author on many peer-reviewed publications and reports covering topics as diverse as vaccine design, bovine mastitis, tail-biting in pigs, emerging & re-emerging diseases and salmonid feed additives.

Simon is the Senior Vice-President of the NI Branch of BVA. He is a trustee of the livestock development charity, Send a Cow, and as a STEM Ambassador, he provides careers advice and mentoring services to veterinary school applicants.

Over 40 years in practice has not diminished Graham Duncanson’s enthusiasm for his life as a vet. After graduating from Bristol, Graham spent eight years as a Government Veterinary Officer in Kenya. In 1975 he returned to work in general practice in Norfolk, where he continues to work today. A passionate animal welfare advocate, Graham regularly speaks to local groups on welfare issues.  Find out more about Graham.

Liverpool graduate Nicola worked in a small animal practice in Shropshire before joining the PDSA.  In 2012 she was appointed PDSA’s Head of Pet Health and Welfare with responsibility for using the charity’s communication channels to educate pet owners and young people about companion animal health and welfare. Nicola’s team developed and launched the highly regarded annual PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report in conjunction with YouGov and ran the education programme which reached over 300,000 children. Find out more about Nicola.

After graduating from Glasgow, Fred enjoyed a successful and varied career in mixed and small animal practice before joining the Veterinary Defence Society. In his current role as Technical Director at VDS he contributes to the day to day running of the organisation in an Executive Director capacity. His experiences in practice have provided opportunities to compare different ethical approaches to the provision of veterinary care and their effects on animal welfare.