CIEH Animal Welfare Conference

Adam Diep, Senior Policy Advisor, Better Enforcement team, Transforming Animal Health and Welfare Directorate, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Adam joined Defra in 2015 and, since November 2022, he has been working on the introduction and implementation of penalty notices for animal health and welfare offences. He led on the drafting of the consultation on the scope of the penalty notice regime and the statutory guidance for enforcement authorities on the use of penalty notices. Adam has also held various roles in Ministerial offices including Senior Private Secretary to the Defra Lords’ Minister. This role covered a range of policy areas including animal health, welfare and biosecurity.

Claire Ingham, Team Leader, Better Enforcement team, Transforming Animal Health and Welfare Directorate at Defra. Claire has been with Defra since 2020 leading on better enforcement including the introduction of the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022. Prior to this, Claire spent over 20 years at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). As an Animal Health Officer she dealt with several significant disease outbreaks including swine fever and the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak. Claire then became a team leader managing diverse teams of veterinary, plant and bee inspectors across the southeast of England.

Kate Ford, Animal Health Inspector at The City of London Corporation. Kate has been working in animal health and welfare for 15 years starting with overseas rescue charity work and then animal education having returned to the UK in 2010. She joined the RSPCA in 2012 as an Inspector in North and East London, dealing with neglect and cruelty investigations and prosecution cases. Since joining the City of London Corporation in 2019 she became a suitably qualified Animal Health Inspector and has carried out over 500 inspections under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018. She is the lead officer for Zoo Licensing and sits on the London Animal Welfare Forum working group. The Animal Health Team are also responsible for investigating and detaining illegal imports in the Greater London area.

Lee Gingell, Public Affairs Manager for Local Government at RSPCA. Lee manages the RSPCA’s relationships with the local public sector, which includes local authorities, housing providers, police forces, NHS providers, and others. His focus is on promoting collaborative efforts to build a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Lee also oversees the RSPCA's Pawprints awards, designed to recognise and celebrate local public sector bodies that not only meet but surpass legal minimums. The areas of recognition encompass various aspects such as stray dog services, animal licensing, housing, contingency planning, and kenneling.

Mark Callis, Animal Welfare Service Manager at the London Borough of Wandsworth. His law enforcement experience spans 41 years. In August 1987, Mark was appointed as one of two Dog Wardens at Wandsworth Council, the first of their kind at that council and one of only a few across the UK. Today, 37 years later, Mark is the manager of the Animal Welfare Service. Mark has appeared in news and current affairs TV programmes, as well as a couple of documentaries. He has sat on various working parties and think tanks, regionally and nationally, for both government departments and the animal welfare charity sector. Mark is a proud member of the Kennel Club and currently sits on the Good Citizens Dog Training scheme, and the Safe and Sound Scheme working parties, and is a commentator at the Crufts Dog shows.

Peter Madden, Dangerous Dog Advisor at Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police. Peter was a Metropolitan Police Officer for 36 years. For 19 years Peter was a Dog Sergeant, including service in the Status Dog Unit. Since 2016 he has been the civilian Dangerous Dog Advisor for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police. He sits on the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Dangerous Dog Working Group, and is the deputy policing advisor to the national policing lead on dangerous dogs. Peter has given presentations on dangerous dogs to a wide variety of groups including the All Party Parliamentary Police Group at the House of Lords. In 2023 he was one of the presenters providing Government sponsored training on Dog Control for enforcers.

Rob Quest MBE, Chair of the Canine and Feline Sector Group (CFSG). Rob started his career with the City of London Corporation in 1984, based at Heathrow Airport. As an Assistant Director within the Port Health and Environmental Services team, he managed both the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre Team and the City of London Corporation’s Animal Health and Welfare team, who operate across London and in other parts of England. Rob sat on various regional and national government panels dealing with animal health and welfare and the regulations governing them. He spent over 10 years with the EU Commission as training coordinator, mainly for their course on the movement of dogs and cats. He has recently been carrying out training in Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

Zoe Phillips, Regional Coordinator at Monmouthshire County Council. Zoe has worked in Trading Standards for over 20 years, specialising in Animal Health. She currently manages the Local Authority Enforcement Project funded by Welsh Government. She is Regional Coordinator for Animal Health in Wales and Chair of the National Animal Health and Welfare Panel. Zoe is also CTSI lead officer for animal health and welfare and she delivers the CTSI Animal Health qualification. In her spare time, Zoe qualified as a dog trainer and she is currently undertaking a Master’s Degree in Animal Welfare, Policy and Legislation.