One Welfare in Practice

Tanya Stephens BVSc (USyd) MSc IAWEL (Uni Ed) MANZCVS (Animal Welfare) FRCVS

Tanya Stephens was born and grew up in the Somerset countryside which inspired a lifelong love of animals and the natural world. She loved nothing more than paddling in streams, collecting tadpoles, talking to hedgehogs or spending time on Devon beaches with their wealth of rock pools. Her family moved to Australia when she was in her early teens and it didn't take long for that interest to transfer to the Australian landscape. A passion for the environment and animals led her to study veterinary science and post graduate work with native animals especially kangaroos.

Tanya established her own small animal practice in Haberfield, Sydney and very much enjoys practice and its everyday challenges. As a practitioner she is particularly interested in professional ethics and promoting the use of evidence based veterinary medicine. She is also a wildlife researcher with original research on galactosaemia in kangaroos and nutrition of orphan marsupials. Tanya's interests lie in animal welfare, professional ethics, the law, research, evidence based practice, wildlife, the environment and sustainable agriculture. She is a regular presenter at Veterinary Conferences and Universities and published author on these topics.

Tanya holds leadership positions within the Australian Veterinary Association, the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists and is Chair of the Australian Veterinary Association's Animal Welfare Trust. She is also a member of a number of Animal Ethics Committees, honorary veterinarian for the Children's Medical Research Institute and involved in management of kangaroos.

Tanya is a recipient of the Belle Bruce Reid Medal awarded by the University of Melbourne in 2006 to Australia's 100 most notable women veterinary science graduates and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.