Isobel will introduce the Wildlife Summit, and speak about Animal Aid, the work they do, with a focus on their wildlife campaigns. She will talk about the status of wild animals in the UK, including the intense persecution faced by non-native animals, those seen as ‘pests’ and those who are bred and released into the wild to be shot for sport. 

Animal Aid take several different approaches to campaigning for wild animals, including undercover investigations, political lobbying, working with the media and helping people to adopt kinder methods for deterring unwanted wild animals. 

Isobel will outline Animal Aid’s work, and a few ways in which people can get involved with helping animals, and introduce the rest of the Summit. 

Dr Helen Harwatt is an international award winning researcher and scientific author specialising in the field of planetary health, with a focus on food systems shifts and climate change mitigation.

Helen will deliver a talk on the environmental impact of food systems, with the focus on climate change, deforestation, nutrient pollution and wildlife loss. She will discuss the links between these impacts, and possible solutions to these issues. 

This talk will explore how climate change will increase wildlife loss, and show examples of progress, including examples of reforesting land currently used for animal agriculture in the UK.

Roxy is a first-class zoologist and presenter (that has been working for ZSL for the past year) that has just returned to Uni to do a Masters in Wildlife Filmmaking in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit. 

She will discuss her work as a wildlife photographer/conservationist, and the conflict that can arise in this industry where veganism is surprisingly uncommon. She will discuss how the importance of, as a photographer, always telling the animal’s story accurately. This feeds into Roxy’s wider gentle activism work, and how she stands up for animals by showing people how amazing they are, and inspiring them to help. 

Roxy will be talking about her own work and wildlife activism, and offer advice for others looking to follow a similar route.

Trevor founded Fox Project thirty years ago after fifteen years serving staff member with League Against Cruel Sports and National Committee Member for Hunt Saboteurs Association

Not everyone likes foxes. But the Fox Project do, so they respond to public sympathy and rescue casualties and orphaned cubs. Because they care so much, we also assist those who don’t like foxes to resolve their issues without lethal action, providing advice on humanely deterring foxes. 

Trevor will be talking about his work rescuing foxes, and the history of the fox project and how they work towards better treatment of foxes by everyone.

Natalia Doran combines looking after two of her children who are young adults with autism with private study of philosophy and work in animal rescue and protection. Natalia runs London’s grey squirrel rescue and advocacy organization, Urban Squirrels. 

The speaker will make use of her private study of philosophy and her practical experience of anti-cull campaigning (as a council member for Animal Aid and the founder of Urban Squirrels) and attempt to create an ethical framework for the discussion of our relationship with wildlife, a framework within which answers to these, as well as other questions can be explored.

During her talk Natalia will be discussing whether or not we have a moral duty to manage the environment; why there is so little cooperation between conservationists and animal rights activists; and whether death is a welfare issue.

Helen is driven by the lack of equality in all its forms, fighting oppression and for those who have no voice. She has been in animal rights for nearly 40 years, 32 of those I’ve been vegan.

She has been sabbing for around 15 years, with 9 of those on committee, helping to run the organisation. 

Helen will be answering audience questions about hunt sabbing, how to help wildlife and how you can get involved.

Humane Wildlife Solutions is a vegan, ethical alternative to ‘pest control’, covering Europe and servicing some of the high street’s biggest names. They cover conflicts with a range of wildlife, helping with everything from ants, wasps, rats, mice, foxes, while also researching  new and inventive ways to achieve vegan solutions to lethal pest control. 

Kevin will be discussing his work with Humane Wildlife Solutions, and how his vegan principles and a desire to help people with wildlife conflicts, without causing harm, lead to the creation of HWS. He will offer some practical ways for the audience can help promote vegan alternatives to pest control, and things they can do themselves to deter ‘unwanted visitors’

Lynn is an animal rights activist/sab and vegan. She changed her life completely from being a hunt supporter 25 years ago when she spoke out against hunting publicly.

Lynn's main focus at the moment is in running Gloucestershire Badger Office as a resource for those fighting the cull/badger persecution in this area and in being part of three counties hunt saboteurs so also out against the hunts and other forms of wildlife crime. One of our recent successes along with Cirencester Illegal Huntwatch is the reporting of hunts blocking and digging out setts in cull zones as this gave the police the data needed to tackle the local hunts. Lynn's view is that this is a small part of a much wider movement to fight against speciesism and all oppression.