About the Founder

Enforcement changes behaviour. It rarely changes perception.

I spent nearly two decades inside the systems that shape how humans treat animals, not as an observer, but at the centre of enforcement, policy and ethics. As a senior inspector and department head at the National Council of SPCAs in South Africa, I held national authority under the Animals Protection Act, leading units across Wildlife, Farm Animals, Special Projects and Research Ethics. That work put me at the sharp end of some of the most difficult cases in Southern African animal welfare, including high-profile primate seizures, unethical research practices and systemic neglect across domestic, farm animal, wildlife and laboratory contexts.

I contributed to the development of national standards, including wildlife translocation, laboratory animal welfare and zoo and aquaria practice, established numerous Animal Ethics Committees across universities and scientific institutions, and advised South African National Parks and research bodies on ethical governance. I also helped bring World Animal Protection's Concepts in Animal Welfare into veterinary education and founded Animal Handling Support Systems, developing humane handling equipment across Southern Africa.

Alongside my work in animal welfare, I have maintained a long-standing practice of mindfulness and reflection. This has reinforced my belief that lasting improvements in animal welfare begin not only with knowledge, but with greater awareness. Animal Aware draws on both my animal welfare experience and reflective practice to develop simple reflection tools that help people better understand animal sentience, recognise the consequences of their choices and make more conscious decisions.

What I observed across decades of frontline work was a persistent gap between compliance and genuine understanding, and it pointed to something that few policies do well. Animal Aware works in that space.