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Andrew Knight BSc (Vet Biol), BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS, FOCAE
Location:
London, UK |
Overview
I've
been an
active animal advocate ever since helping launch Australia’s campaign
against the live sheep trade to the Middle East in the early 1990s. I completed
the veterinary degree at
Western Australia's AVMA-accredited Murdoch University in 2001, primarily
to provide specialized knowledge and skills to
assist animal
protection
campaigns. I hold a post-graduate Certificate in Animal Welfare Science,
and am a Fellow of the Oxford
Centre for Animal Ethics. I'm a
Spokesperson for
Animals Count: a UK political party
for people and animals; the Director of
Animal Consultants International,
which provides multidisciplinary expertise for animal issues; and the Founder of
the Extreme Vegan Sporting
Association, which showcases vegan fitness.
When not practicing veterinary medicine in London I
speak and publish internationally on vegan companion
animal diets, animal experimentation, animal use in biomedical education, animal
welfare standards of veterinarians, extreme vegan sports, and other
controversial topics. Although interested in a wide range of bioethical issues,
I'm most concerned about the contributions of animal agriculture to global
warming, which significantly exceed those of any other social sector, including
all forms of transport combined. The consequent loss of
biodiversity and threat to sentient life is the most important issue of
our time.
Scientific publications
My 13 major and 4 minor papers on animal experimentation and other bioethical issues have been published in scientific and medical journals such as the British Medical Journal USA and the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. These publications and others are available at www.aknight.info. Selected examples include:
■
Knight A. The
effectiveness of humane teaching methods in veterinary and
other biomedical education. ALTEX 2007.
Summaries in Vet Rev 2007,
Aust
Vet J 2007, AATEX
2008.
■
Knight A. The poor contribution
of chimpanzee experiments to biomedical progress. J Appl Anim Welf Sci 2007.
Summary in
AATEX
2008.
■
Knight A. The beginning of the end for chimpanzee experiments?
Philos,
Ethics & Humanities in Med 2008.
Summary in Vet Rev
2008.
■
Knight A. Systematic reviews of
animal experiments demonstrate poor human clinical and toxicological utility.
Altern Lab Anim
2007. Summaries in ALTEX
2007, BMJ 2007 (online rapid response),
Reviews Recent Clin Trials 2008, AATEX 2008.
■
Knight A.
Non-animal methodologies within biomedical research and toxicity testing. ALTEX
2008.
Popular publications
My articles, editorials, and letters on animal protection and bioethical issues have been published in major newspapers such as the Washington Times, Seattle Times and San Diego Union-Tribune, and veterinary journals such as Vet Practice, Vet Review, J Amer Vet Med Assoc, and the Aust Vet J. Examples are available are available at www.aknight.info.
Presentations
I have delivered oral or poster presentations on humane teaching methods in biomedical education, animal experimentation, animal welfare standards of veterinarians, vegan companion animal diets, and other bioethical topics, at over 20 universities, scientific and popular conferences internationally, since 1999. My standard presentations are listed at www.aknight.info. Recent examples include:
■ 2009: The 2009 International Academic and Community Conference on Animals and Society: Minding Animals. Newcastle Civic Precinct, Newcastle, NSW, Australia (seven presentations on a variety of topics).
■ 2008: 15th Congress on Alternatives to Animal Testing, Linz, Austria: animal experimentation (alternatives in research and testing), chimpanzee experimentation.
■ 2008: 22nd International Primatological Society Congress, Edinburgh, UK: chimpanzee experimentation.
■ 2008: 29th World Veterinary Congress, Vancouver, Canada: humane teaching methods in veterinary education, animal welfare standards of veterinarians.
Websites
1. www.aknight.info:
campaigns, interviews, presentations, publications.
2.
www.AnimalExperiments.info:
published scientific studies and governmental reports demonstrating the poor predictivity of animal experiments for human medical outcomes, poor laboratory
animal welfare, and describing non-animal alternatives.
3.
www.HumaneLearning.info: over 400
educational studies describing humane alternatives to harmful animal use in
biomedical education and related resources, including a review of over 30
studies comparing student learning outcomes obtained via harmful animal use with
those obtained via humane teaching methods.
4.
www.LearningWithoutKilling.info: support
and guidance for students unwilling to harm animals for their education.
5. www.VegePets.info:
comprehensive information about the health and
nutritional aspects of vegan companion animal diets.
6.
www.AnimalConsultants.org:
experts with
specialised
skills or qualifications wishing to assist animal
advocacy campaigns.
Awards
I've been deeply honoured to have received six awards, mostly for presentations at international scientific conferences, and, in one case, from an international animal charity.
Professional licensure
I am licensed or eligible for licensure to practice veterinary medicine in the US, the UK, Australia and several other countries.
