Sean always knew he was going to be a vet. Growing up amongst the pine woods and red squirrels of Formby, he was never far from the natural world.
During his time as a student, he applied for a vacation scholarship funded by the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. “It opened my eyes to the world of animal welfare science - understanding how animals perceive the world; understanding their needs and wants and their pleasures and pains; and discovering how this scientific understanding is informing and shaping our ethical judgements about how animals should be treated and used for human benefit.”
After graduating, Sean studied for an MSc at Edinburgh Vet School and in 2008 joined the UK veterinary charity, PDSA, as a Senior Veterinary Surgeon for Communication and Education. His work with the charity and his own interests in animal welfare led him to become involved with the British Veterinary Association (BVA), the national body for the profession. In 2014 he joined the BVA Council and in 2015/16 he served as President.
Under his presidency, the BVA launched its ‘Animal Welfare Strategy’. Sean says: “The aim was to create a structured animal welfare action plan for the UK veterinary profession. The strategy is providing the basis for ongoing activities under its themes of animal welfare assessment, ethics, legislation, advocacy, education and international.”
When asked about the strategy by Veterinary Record in 2018, Sean said: “On a personal level, I want to see animals having a good quality of life in the different ways that we use them. On a professional level, we all take an oath to protect and promote animal welfare and there’s a global societal expectation of the profession to do that so we have to ask ourselves, are we doing it?”
In 2017, Sean’s work was recognised on a global scale, receiving the World Veterinary Association’s Global Animal Welfare Award for Europe. He was also made a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2018 for his Meritorious Contributions to the Veterinary Profession.