If you want to change the world, you’ve got to rationalise your passion

My first experience of animal welfare ‘lobbying’ was as a child, raising money for the RSPCA through a garage sale where I could pitch to my neighbours on why animals matter. I was raised in a dog loving family, where it seemed natural to care about our fellow animals — we are, after all, animals ourselves. At school, this passion evolved to engaging in formal debates on welfare issues.

Roll on a decade and the academic hamster wheel had gathered a momentum that led me through a law degree, a Legal Practice Course and the completion of a Training Contract with a corporate law firm. After years of study, sweat and tears over the complexities of commercial litigation, and the challenges of being a trainee solicitor in a busy firm in the recession, it seemed a no-brainer to qualify and reap the rewards of these efforts. The job was complex and fun, but in the whirlwind of increasing levels of study I’d ended up in a place where I wasn’t following my passion — to work within animal welfare as a campaigner. I braced myself and took the decision to retire from law at the age of 25.

World Animal Protection gave me my first break helping in support and projects in the Programmes team. Instead of recording my time to clients, reviewing witness statements and pouring over legal research, I was learning to work across conflicting time zones and development cultures, immersing myself in the different agendas that made policy makers pay attention. I quickly learnt that a passion to change things isn’t enough, that the ‘empathy argument’ was never going to cut it amidst pressing priorities, and my view on how to impact animal welfare was woefully naive.

I worked with vets, academics, accountants — absorbing their shared insights on how if you want people to take animal welfare seriously, you need to show the critical thread to people and the environment. For example, dogs are often culled inhumanely en masse in misguided efforts to control rabies in countries where it’s endemic across Asia, Africa and other continents. However, mass vaccination of dogs to build herd immunity is proven to help eliminate rabies at source. When combined with appropriate pre and post exposure prophylaxis in humans, and education, it moves us closer to a rabies free future. Advocating for this simple “One Health” approach through my first campaigns role felt like the space I’d been trying to reach since that first garage sale. The difference was that it was targeted to those with the power to act — ministries of health, agriculture, and environment.

Continuing to truly channel my younger self — my next leap was to further my specialism in dog welfare, with a stint as Head of Campaigns at Dogs Trust. Here I learnt about what local campaigning meant, from lobbying DEFRA to take action on the cross border trafficking of puppies to working with local councils on campaigns to encourage people to pick up dog poo, and yes, you can do a Flash Mob of ‘pooper-scoopers’, albeit with limited viral potential!

Which brings me to my current role, at Brooke Action for Working Horses and Donkeys (Brooke). As Senior Manager of Global External Affairs my role is to work with counterparts across East and West Africa, South Asia and Central America to ensure policy makers understand the value working animals bring to livelihoods. They provide a direct and indirect income across many sectors: agriculture, brick kilns and mining, transporting goods to market and providing traction. It’s not a ‘lobbying pitch’ that these animals support people’s survival, it’s simply the reality in many countries Brooke operate. They are a key facet in the realisation of the sustainable development goals and agenda, and yet they are often invisible, overlooked in policy framing and not receiving the veterinary care they need.

I remember my induction trip to Brooke India, standing in the dust in 2015 outside a closed brick kiln in the hot dry heat, deserted because Delhi had declared a temporary ban in kilns due to the toxic emissions that were choking the beautiful city. These are kilns in which men, women and children work together with horses, donkeys and mules to produce bricks on a daily basis. The kilns opened again later into that season, and Brooke continued to advocate for better conditions for animals and the people who rely upon them for income. Brooke partners with environmental, human rights and development organisations to work with brick kiln owner federations to improve conditions rather than highlighting these issues in isolation, respectful to the cultural nuances that surround this industry.

There are a few rare campaigners who affect change, and I’m blessed to have worked briefly with some of these, such as Joanna Toole, who campaigned tirelessly for protection of the oceans, and who tragically lost her life in a plane crash en route to the UN Environment Assembly in March. I take inspiration from peers like Jo who worked tirelessly for what she believed in, and the talented colleagues I’m surrounded with as my own tiny drop in the ocean efforts continue.

I work to highlight the critical value animals have in our world, not merely as assets or resources, but as an intrinsic part of life. For me, from a garage sale to law books, to meetings at the UN FAO, to a brick kiln on the outskirts of Delhi, I have learnt through doing how to ensure those in power think, feel and act upon this value. There is no one route into External Affairs. You need to be prepared to start afresh sometimes, learn the ropes from experts around you and build your networks. Above all, you need have an ear to the ground all the time, and learn how your passion can change someone’s mind.