Dr Leisha Hewitt

Leisha is an animal welfare specialist, leading projects in both pure and applied animal welfare research. She holds a PhD in Clinical Veterinary Science, an MSc Meat Science and a BSc Agriculture and Environmental Science (Honours in Animal Science). Relevant areas of research include:

• Development and implementation of animal-based measures and assessment protocols for a range of livestock species, including crocodilians, lizards and snakes.
• Scientific review and bench marking of international regulations and standards to enable material suppliers to meet customer requirements effectively from within existing supply chains.
• Objective assessment (including neurophysiological studies) of husbandry and processing procedures to establish compliance with animal welfare requirements.

Leisha has acted in a consultancy and advisory capacity to a wide range of livestock industries (meat, dairy, egg and fibre production, farmed reptiles and live animal export), particularly to emerging and developing industries seeking to implement meaningful and effective standards of animal welfare. In 2017, she was a member of the OIE ad hoc working group who developed a Chapter for the Terrestrial Animal Health Code on the slaughter and killing of commercially farmed reptiles for their skins and meat. She is a member of AWSELVA (Animal Welfare, Science, Ethics and Law Association) and maintains a close association with academic institutions (for example, Adelaide University, Australia and Bristol University, UK) and NGOs (for example, the Humane Slaughter Association).

Leisha also holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment, Post Graduate Certificate of Education, and Diploma in Quality Management. She is an IRCA trained Lead Auditor and Animal Welfare Assessor with a total of 15 years experience in the application of animal-based measures and on-farm assessment protocols across a range of species and production systems worldwide.

More background on Leisha can be found on LinkedIn.

Graeme Drake

Graeme is a former Head of Conformity Assessment at the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva, Switzerland. He has held operational and senior executive positions in a number of auditing and assurance companies, including NCS International (now owned by the British Standards Institute), and for the National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA).

Graeme has worked on supply chain traceability, chain of custody and production system assurance for a diverse range of industries, including agricultural products (live animal export, meat and dairy production, aquaculture, and forestry); construction products (reinforcing and structural steels, and timber); and food products for major retail chains, regulatory agencies and customs organisations. He has also provided advice to the United Nations Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (UN CITES) and provides training to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on good regulatory practice, standards and conformity assessment.

Graeme has undergraduate qualifications in regional planning, specialising in environmental management and economics, and post graduate qualifications in business and administration. He has completed studies in negotiation and conflict resolution at Harvard University Law School and holds the International Director’s Diploma of the Australia Institute of Company Directors.

More background on Graeme can be found on LinkedIn.