Claire is a veterinary surgeon who has been working in farm practice for the past six years both in the southwest and further north near her hometown of Liverpool – although there’s not so many cows there! Recently, she has undertaken a Post Graduate Certificate in Conservation Medicine which has consolidated her interest in regenerative agriculture and the principles of ecosystem health on our farms. She was awarded a 2021 Nuffield Scholarship to study the benefits of regenerative agriculture on livestock health and welfare.

As a founding member of the Dung Beetles for Farmers project she has given her expertise to help promote the benefits of dung beetles and how farmers can support them. Dung beetles play a key role in farming ecosystems and she has become quite the ‘poo fiddler’, often found guddling about in cow muck on her evenings off.

“For me, as a vet, learning about the effects of ivermectin use on dung beetles alongside increasing levels of resistance to worming products in our livestock has forced me to think more about parasite control on my clients’ farms and how we should only be using worming products when we really need to. The role of dung beetles in keeping nuisance fly populations under control is another reason why we should be encouraging dung beetles onto our farms.”

Further information can be found at www.dungbeetlesforfarmers.co.uk