Our governance and experts
The Sentient Animal Law Foundation is led by experts in law, science, policy and industry.
Our patron
Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG
Patron of the Sentient Animal Law Foundation
Michael Kirby is an international jurist, educator and former judge. He served as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (1975-83); Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84); Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1983-4); President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (1984-96); President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-96) and Justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009).
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He has undertaken many international activities for the United Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the OECD and the Global Fund Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He has also worked in civil society, being elected President of the International Commission of Jurists (1995-8). His recent international activities have included member of the Eminent Persons Group on the Future of the Commonwealth of Nations (2010-11); Commissioner of the UNDP Global Commission on HIV and the Law (2011-12); Chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on DPRK (North Korea) (2013-14); and Member of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Essential Healthcare (2015-16). He is also heavily engaged in international arbitrations; domestic mediations; and teaching law. He is Honorary Professor at 12 Australian and overseas universities.
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In 1991 he was awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. In 1998, he was named Laurette of the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education. In 2010 he was named co-winner of the Gruber Justice Prize. In 2011 he received the inaugural Australian Privacy Medal. The honorary degrees of Doctor of Letters, Doctor of Laws and Doctor of the University have been conferred on him by universities in Australia and overseas. He lives in Sydney with his partner since 1969, Johan van Vloten.
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With a legal career spanning four decades, Michael Kirby is a man who commands deep respect. When Dr Kirby retired from the High Court of Australia in 2009, he was Australia’s longest-serving judge.
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Both in and out of the courtroom, he has - and continues to be - a change maker in many causes, which significantly includes advocating for the well-being of animals. He is deeply familiar with the legal implications of the scientific recognition of animal sentience and has stated, ‘Animals are sentient beings like us. They suffer pain and fear. To be human in a sense is to be intelligent; reflective; philosophical and to think about where we stand in the universe. When we do that we realise we stand with other sentient beings.’
Our Executive
Dr Ian A. Robertson
Ian is a Barrister specialising in all aspects of animal law including animal welfare, biosecurity, food safety, and a wide range of criminal, civil and commercial matters involving animals. He's an unusual combination of professions given that he began his career as a veterinarian. After nearly 15 years working hands-on as a clinical veterinarian in large and small animal practice, he was chosen by Fox Television to be one of a small group of presenters bringing stories about endangered species from around the world to the television screen. That's where he developed an interest in how the law did, and did not, work in protecting animal interests. When the contract with Fox finished, he returned to New Zealand, sold his veterinary practices, and headed off to law school with the specific intention of becoming an animal law legal expert.
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He has spent many years working in animal welfare enforcement as a Prosecutor with the Ministry for Primary Industries in New Zealand, then as the State-wide Specialist with Compliance and Enforcement in Victoria, Australia. He left enforcement to work as a Barrister and works around the world advising on animal welfare matters, teaching and publishing widely on the subject of animals, welfare and the law.
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"A lot of people in the animal welfare space are aware of the "positive animal welfare" concept and related people-animal-planet issues. The thing about the Sentient Animal Law Foundation is that we know how to put positive animal welfare into law - that delivers nationwide change in years not decades, and will see all sentient animals given a genuine quality of life experience, not just the lucky ones".
Animal Law Specialist, Barrister, Veterinarian
Founder, Trustee and Chairperson
Daniel Goldsworthy
Daniel Goldsworthy is admitted as an Australian Lawyer in the Supreme Court of Victoria and is an Associate Lecturer with Deakin Law School.
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After working initially in legal practice as a solicitor in civil litigation, property and commercial law, Dan’s expertise and interests in matters of public law led him to pursue an academic career. He is a widely liked and recognised legal academic specialising in public law including constitutional law, administrative law, legal theory and public international law.
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He publishes widely in areas that include legal theory and jurisprudence, constitutional law and theory, public international law, animal welfare law, legal education, and sports law and regulation. He has distinguished himself as an academic, presenting at conferences both nationally and internationally in his chosen fields, and has been awarded for his writing on the intersection of legal education, technology and philosophy. He continues to serve on Australia’s Forestry Board and hold leadership roles in not-for-profit organisations and tribunals.
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"It’s time for animal law to evolve,” says Dan. ”We need modern law for our modern post-covid world. Positive animal welfare law moves people, governments, organisations, and the life experience of animals, forward to where we scientifically, and morally, know where it needs to be”.
Public Law Academic and Lawyer
Trustee and Vice-Chair
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Jack O'Hern
Jack O’Hern is much more than just an English chartered accountant with vast experience in the charity sector and Partner/Director of a leading United Kingdom accountancy firm.
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For over 30 years he has worked with businesses helping them to manage the business and financial aspects of whatever the company does and providing specialist input to everything from their strategy and business structure to their forward planning and performance of their Boards of Directors.
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His vast experience with all aspects of business across multitude sectors is complimented by a recognised trust both professionally and personally.
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He has been a core voice of insight, reason and guidance to the Sentient Animal Law Foundation from Day 1 and is one of Sentient Animal Law Foundation’s Founding Directors.
Chartered Accountant
Trustee and Finance Director
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Kat Dwyer
Kat Dwyer's background spans high-level law, finance, and strategic operations. A specialist in all aspects of property law—particularly personal property—her expertise is highly relevant to the Sentient Animal Law Foundation, where understanding the legal status of animals as property plays a crucial role in advancing our mission.
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She has been the go-to expert in corporate law, finance, intellectual property, and property law for organisations worldwide, ranging from listed companies to state-owned enterprises. Kat has led strategic projects, managed regulatory reforms, and provided critical legal and operational guidance in complex environments.
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In addition to her legal career, Kat has held sales and marketing roles, including fundraising for charities, as well as board and advisory positions for start-ups and non-profit organisations.
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With her history of "getting things done", Kat's skill in navigating legal and operational challenges is essential to her role as Chief Operating Officer of the Sentient Animal Law Foundation.
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A mother of two children and a loyal German shepherd, Kat is deeply committed to creating a kind and sustainable world for future generations. Guided by the principle, “Is it kind?”, she brings her pragmatic approach, professional expertise, and personal vision to SAL’s mission, fostering harmony and a good life for people, animals, and our shared environment.
Property and Corporate Law Specialist
Chief Operating Officer
Our Advisory Board
Dr Ngaio Beausoleil is, quite simply, one of the international giants of animal welfare science.
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Ngaio is an Associate Professor of Applied Ethology and Animal Welfare Science and Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at the Massey University School of Veterinary Science (New Zealand). For over 20 years she has been active in research, teaching, and scholarship in the fields of animal physiology, behaviour and welfare science of domestic and wild animal species and for more than a decade she has been closely involved in the evolution of the Five Domains Model.
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She provides scientific support, advice and research to governments, animal industry and professional bodies in New Zealand and around the world. She is Chair of the New Zealand Veterinary Journal editorial board (NZVJ) and serves as an independent scientific expert on the NZ Animal Behaviour and Welfare Consultative Committee (AWBCC), Wellington Zoo Animal Welfare Committee, the Australia New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) and is the Massey liaison to the UK Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW).
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Ngaio is a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Board and her insights about ‘positive animal welfare’ strongly inform the work of the Sentient Animal Law Foundation to benefit animals and people.
Dr Ngaio Beausoleil
Scientific Expert
Advisory Board Member
Dr Mike Shallcrass is a veterinarian with a world of experience in the animal dairy industry. The ‘world of experience’ is no exaggeration – he has worked ‘hands on’ as a clinical dairy veterinarian in New Zealand and the United Kingdom for over a decade before joining one of the top six dairy companies in the world (Fonterra) as their Senior Veterinary Manager in Fonterra’s On-Farm Excellence Animal Welfare team.
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His focus is on improving the welfare of dairy cows in New Zealand and around the world by incentivising farmers to adopt practices that the Five Domains welfare model thereby encouraging the animal’s experience of ‘positive welfare’ states.
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Mike provides very pragmatic, insightful and applied industry insights to the vision and work of the Sentient Animal Law Foundation.
Dr Mike Shallcrass
Scientific Expert
Advisory Board Member
Nicola Craddock
Nicola Craddock is an experienced business leader with a demonstrated history in strategy, commercial planning, marketing and operations and qualifications that include a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
She is the Executive Director of Zoos and Aquariums Australia (‘ZAA’) which applies a progressive, science-based model of animal welfare across all member organisations. The model is distinctive for its inclusion of positive animal welfare to multiple species of animals. In Nicola’s words, “this approach champions welfare from the animal’s perspective”.
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Nicola is also chair of the Board of Trustees of the nonprofit organisation Species360, which fosters international collaboration in the collection and sharing of information to improve the care and conservation of species.
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Consequently, Nicola brings a keen business mind to the Sentient Animal Law Foundation’s vision, alongside real-world insights in response to the question ‘what’s important to the animal’?
Business Leader
Advisory Board Member
Kate Littin is a lifelong supporter of initiatives that promote positive environmental and societal change involving the human-animal relationship.
She brings a wealth of experience as a scientist with a deep understanding of the complexities and connections between research, policy, regulation, and intergovernmental collaboration. She concurrently serves on various board and committee roles supporting nature-focused and animal welfare causes.
Her forward-thinking approach aims to strengthen the connection between people and the environment, fostering a sustainable future and inspiring meaningful progress in these vital areas.
Kate is a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Board and her insights, especially involving intergovernmental and organisational initiatives collaborating toward a sustainable future involving the human-animal relationship, strongly inform the work of the Sentient Animal Law Foundation.
Kate Littin
Environmental Consultant
Advisory Board Member
Special Advisers
There are a range of people from industry, government, and different professions who fulfil roles as Specialist Advisers to the Foundation. They generously provide their insights, experience and assistance to the messaging and activities of the Sentient Animal Law Foundation.
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The Foundation acknowledges its deep appreciation for their invaluable input.