Dr Clare Ellis

Clare teaches on a range of modules across the Bioveterinary Sciences degree and supports animal handling sessions, focusing on small domestic species such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Clare is passionate about supporting learner development and developing learning resources that encourage student engagement and enjoyment during their studies. She works with the Digital Education Team to develop digital case studies as part of the BVMS asynchronous learning activities.

Clare started her career as a zookeeper, working with a range of mammalian and avian species, including bears, sea lions, small felids, tapirs, yak, penguins and display birds (e.g. parrots and birds of prey). After completing her BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, she worked for two years in an animal rescue and rehoming centre where she provided all aspects of care for domestic cats. Having commended teaching in 2007, Clare returned to education to complete her master's degree in Animal Behaviour, prior to starting her PhD.

During her doctoral studies, Clare continued to teach undergraduates and postgraduates in Animal Sciences, before returning to the zoo industry where she was manager for the Research, Education and Conservation teams at Twycross Zoo. In addition to leading her team at the zoo, Clare liaised with conservation and research partners within the UK and internationally, supporting over 60 research students annually and delivering on two WAZA Conservation Education grants in her time at Twycross Zoo. Clare also guided the education team to develop new processes for the development of interpretation resources, and the life sciences team in the integration of Qualitative Behavioural Assessments (QBA).

Following successful completion of her PhD, Clare completed a Post Doctoral Research Associate position, at the University of Nottingham working for the BIAZA Elephant Welfare Group (UK), to collate, analyse and disseminate the results of UK zoo elephant health and welfare data. Clare then returned to academia where she taught BSc Zoo Management and BVMS degrees, prior to joining our School at UCLan.

During her MSc, Clare conducted a behavioural-based husbandry project on captive brown bears and for her PhD, Clare studied methodologies for measuring personality in domestic rabbits, along with rabbit relinquishment and shelter data gathering processes in the UK. Clare continues to research topics linked to the welfare of small mammal species, the welfare of animals used in educational settings, and zoo management impacts on welfare. Here at the UCLan vet school, she is looking to research topics that encompass a One Welfare approach, working with experts across disciplines to address areas linked to human-animal-environment interactions.