The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) is looking to recruit four to five new trustees to help drive the charity’s mission to improve the welfare of animals through research, education, and debate.
The British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) charity is inviting applications from the veterinary community and animal welfare professionals from across the UK, who work in any area from primary care through to academia and the commercial sector. The trustees are required to attend three meetings a year and will have a hands-on role in the charity’s work. In addition, trustees will be expected to attend the charity’s annual event, the AWF Discussion Forum, the latest of which was held in May and saw discussion and debate sessions on topics ranging from welfare in pest control to extreme breeds and gene editing.
Trustees are also expected to sit on one or more of the charity’s sub-committees, which focus on particular areas of AWF’s work such as professional education or research grants. Applications are welcome from anyone with a serious interest in AWF’s work and the skills, passion, and time needed to help tackle animal welfare issues.
Julian Kupfer, who has a background in mixed practice and is AWF’s Chair of Trustees, said: “As a trustee of AWF you play a really active role in the charity’s work. This is tremendously rewarding as you know you are making a demonstrable impact on improving animal welfare in the UK as well as the most fantastic opportunity to keep learning.
“If you think you can contribute the time, share your knowledge, and want to make a meaningful contribution to the charity’s work then we would encourage you to find out more and apply.”
Deidre Carson, equine veterinarian, and associate partner at Rossdales LLP, has been a trustee since 2019. She said: “Being a Trustee for AWF has been stimulating and, at times, challenging. Stimulating because I am working with people from a wide range of animal welfare-oriented backgrounds and challenging because I am having to learn new ways of thinking about issues that haven’t previously crossed my radar. It is also stimulating to see how many people are trying to drive higher welfare standards across so many different species and how AWF can help to support that work.”
BVA’s President Justine Shotton, who became an AWF Trustee in 2019, said: “I believe that being an AWF Trustee gives me the opportunity to contribute to tangible improvement in animal welfare across species. The approach AWF takes to ensure robust research is funded to improve animal welfare science, and therefore help inform policy, is unrivaled, and it’s an absolute privilege to be able to contribute to such an important charity.
“If you’re passionate about animal welfare and advocating for this, and have time to make a meaningful contribution, please do apply to be a trustee.”
The deadline for AWF Trustee applications is 9 am on Monday 15 August 2022.
To apply or for more information such as the role description and person specification, visit https://www.animalwelfarefoundation.org.uk/become-a-trustee/.
To find out more about AWF, visit: www.animalwelfarefoundation.org.uk
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