It was all change at the November trustees meeting this year, as AWF bade a sad farewell to Tiffany Hemming, who stepped down after serving for 5 years as a trustee followed by 5 years as Chair. 

In 2011 Tiffany put herself forward for the position of Chair and was up against two other excellent candidates.  She cites this as one of her proudest moments and says “I hope that I have repaid their belief in me and that they are proud of the AWF that I have helped to shape”.  Looking back at her exceptional leadership, hard work and dedication there’s no doubt that they are! From student education to the Puppy Contract, we take a look at her legacy….

Student education and research

Since its early days AWF has played an important role in cementing animal welfare into the veterinary curriculum.  In 1986 AWF’s Colleen Macleod Chair in Animal Welfare at Cambridge University made Donald Broom the world’s first Professor of Animal Welfare. Eight years later we funded welfare lectureships at Bristol, Glasgow and Liverpool.  Tiffany recognised the importance of keeping animal welfare firmly on the agenda for the next generation of vets and was keen to ensure that AWF continues to serve veterinary students.  Under her leadership AWF introduced welfare talks and debates to the UK vet schools in 2012 and will extend these to veterinary nursing schools from 2017.  The talks are well received and give students a chance to learn about difficult welfare issues before going into practice. Tiffany also guided the charity to implement the new student grant scheme which launched this year.

The Puppy Contract

One of Tiffany’s biggest accomplishments is the work she did with the Puppy Contract. The contract is a document containing a detailed Puppy Information Pack, guidance notes for both breeder and buyer and a legally binding contract.  This tool was put together by AWF and the RSPCA in response to the growing issue of irresponsible puppy breeding.  The contract has been reviewed and endorsed by organisations including BVA, PDSA, UFAW and Dogs Trust and is already being used by a number of breed groups such as the Cockapoo Club.

Veterinary nurses

Extending AWF’s remit to include veterinary nurses was a big part of Tiffany’s manifesto. As well as the new student talks for veterinary nursing students, AWF is now recruiting for a veterinary nurse trustee.

AWF’s new chair

Chris Laurence now takes over from Tiffany as the new AWF Chair.  Chris has been a very active trustee since 2011. He has been Deputy Chair for the last year, working hard to shape the direction of AWF to be more relevant to the vet profession and financially stable. A well respected member of the profession, his experience and passion for animal welfare make him a persuasive and engaging ambassador for the charity.  Chris’s work with AWF and other charities has given him a broad understanding of the complexities of running a charity and he is committed to seeing through the plans put in place by the trustees during the last few years.