The Animal Welfare Committee welcomes new experts

22 Sep 2025 11:04 AM

The new Committee members will advise governments across the UK on measures to protect animal welfare.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has made three appointments to the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC).

Professor Amaya Albalat, Dr Jessica Martin, and Mr Charlie Mason joined the Committee on 1 August 2025 for four-year terms, running until 31 July 2029.

They replace Dr Jane Downes and Dr Dorothy McKeegan, whose appointments end on 30 September 2025, and Dr Troy Gibson, whose appointment ends on 31 December 2025. They have served on the Committee since January 2018.

Finally, Professor Simon Girling has stepped down, after serving on the AWC since January 2023. He has also stepped down from the Zoos Expert Committee, which he has chaired since November 2018.

The Animal Welfare Committee advises Defra, as well as the Scottish and Welsh Governments, on matters relating to animal welfare, including farmed, companion and wild animals kept by people. The Committee also advises the Northern Ireland Executive on the welfare of animals at the time of killing. A full list of AWC members is available on Gov.uk.

Madeleine Campbell, Chair of the Animal Welfare Committee, said:

I am delighted to welcome our new members to the AWC. Between them, they bring varied and highly applicable expertise which will help to ensure that the advice of the AWC remains evidence-based and practical. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to our retiring members. We will miss the unique and valuable contributions each of these colleagues made to the work of the committee. All were in post when I joined as Chair, and I would like to say a personal thank you to each of them for giving their time and expertise so generously.

Biographies

Professor Amaya Albalat

• Amaya is a professor in Aquatic Animal Health and Welfare, as well as Director of Research at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling.
• She has expertise in fish and crustacean welfare, including slaughter. She has worked in projects related to both the wild-capture and aquaculture sectors.

Dr Jessica Martin

• Jessica is an Associate Professor (Reader) in Animal Welfare and Innovation, and Chair of the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body at Newcastle University.
• She has expertise in animal welfare at slaughter and killing, in both agriculture and biomedical research settings, with a particular focus on pigs and poultry.

Mr Charlie Mason

• Charlie is the Technical Director at the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA), where he has worked since 1987.  
• He has practical expertise and experience in animal welfare at slaughter and killing.  He holds a full slaughter licence and is involved in training HSA stakeholders in livestock transport, marketing, slaughter and killing for emergencies/disease control.
• Charlie is a Churchill Fellow of 1990 and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies.