Bridging the gap between animal welfare standards and real-world practice.
I help organisations bring animal welfare science, behavioural knowledge and operational realities together.
The aim is to turn standards and good intentions into practical decisions and workable systems that teams can apply consistently and sustain.
The test is what those systems mean for animals in day-to-day practice.
Welfare in practice, not just in principle
Scientific research, legislation, standards, and policies play crucial roles in establishing a shared understanding of what constitutes good animal welfare. But knowing it, writing it down, and sharing it do not, on their own, guarantee that welfare is achieved as effectively as it could be in practice.
What animals experience under human care is influenced by the systems, people, resources and daily decisions that surround them. How well these elements work together shapes whether good welfare decisions are easy to make and can be repeated consistently over time.
Most people working with animals want to do right by them. The real question is usually whether the conditions around them make that possible.
Welfare in Practice contributes to wider efforts to improve animal welfare by focusing on what happens between knowing and doing.
My work sits in that space: where welfare, as it is written, has to become welfare as it is lived.
Who this work is for
Welfare in Practice works with organisations, teams and sector bodies whose decisions shape animal welfare.
Zoos and aquariums
Education
Rescue and rehoming centres
NGOs and sector bodies
Assistance-animal organisations
Policy, regulation and assurance
How I can support your work
Advisory and Consultancy
Practical support for organisations and teams working to turn welfare standards and improvement goals into consistent day-to-day practice.
Useful where expectations are clear, but implementation is difficult: practice varies, handovers and team changes disrupt consistency, or operational pressures keep getting in the way.
Behaviour-Informed Welfare Systems
Support to build or strengthen behaviour-informed welfare systems, so behaviour informs everyday welfare decisions and helps indicate whether care is having the intended effect for the animal.
Useful where practice is still developing, varies between people or is not yet fully connected to wider welfare decisions.
Speaking and Workshops
Conferences, keynotes and workshops on the practical realities of turning welfare principles into real-world improvement.
Sessions offer clear, grounded insight for audiences working through complex welfare decisions involving animal care, behaviour, standards, culture and implementation.
What I bring
My perspective has been shaped over 25 years working inside animal-care organisations at very different levels, from frontline delivery and behaviour work through team leadership, operational management, programme development and consultancy.
That breadth means I tend to look beyond whether an idea is sound on paper and ask what will make it usable in practice: who holds responsibility, what the setting can support, what teams can sustain and what difference it should make for the animal.
I am now studying for a BSc (Hons) in Animal Welfare Science at Scotland’s Rural University College (SRUC), bringing extensive operational experience together with behavioural knowledge and current welfare science.
“Nikki has extensive experience across animal care and welfare, from companion animals to wild animals in human care on a global scale.”
Sabrina Brando, PhD
CEO | InterBeing | AnimalConceptsResearcher | Speaker | Writer | InnerMBA | Heroic Coach
Working through a welfare implementation challenge?
If your team is trying to turn welfare standards, behavioural knowledge or good intentions into change that works in daily practice and fits the realities of the animals, people, budget and setting, I'd be glad to talk it through.
Explore the thinking behind Welfare in Practice
Insights is where I examine the practical questions behind welfare implementation: how standards, evidence and good intentions become workable, consistent practice in real settings.
Why good welfare intentions are only the starting point, and what has to happen for them to shape animals’ day-to-day experience.