Sean's Wild Life

In this episode we're moving away from wildlife and nature conservation to a serious animal welfare issue I face in my career as a vet, exploring the issues of flat faced or brachycephalic dog breeds. I'm joined by two incredibly knowledgeable guests, Alison Skipper and Dr Rowena Packer. Alison is a vet studying a PhD in the history of pedigree dog breeding and welfare. Rowena is a companion animal behaviour and welfare scientist at the Royal Vet College. Together we explore when and why the trend for flat faced dogs appeared, why they are popular, what problems they suffer from as a result of their extreme appearance and what can be done about it. It's a fascinating insight into a complex topic.Dr Packer is recruiting recent puppy owners for a survey in to pandemic puppy ownership, so if you fit the bill please do partake by 11th March here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Pups2021Cover image courtesy of CRUFFA (Campaign for the Responsible Use of Flat Faced Animals in Advertising. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cruffa).Sean's Wild Life podcast is produced by Sean McCormack, co-produced and edited by Thomas Ntinas. Title track 'A Wild Life' kindly composed and donated by Mark Rose.All costs of production have been self funded. If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to tip me by buying me a coffee you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/seanswildlife.If you would like to sponsor a future episode of Sean's Wild Life please email drseanmccormack@gmail.com and visit www.drseanmccormack.com to learn more about Sean's work.

It's a podcast crossover episode this time as I meet with fellow podcaster Ryan Dalton, host of the excellent nature podcast 'Into the Wild' (https://intothewild.podbean.com/). I brought Ryan to a top secret location last Spring to find adders, Britain's only venomous reptile as he'd only recently seen his first one and wanted to see more. I visit this site each year and told him I'd guarantee him some adders to photograph and marvel at. Maybe even find a legendary black adder? We weren't only there for a snake hunt however. We wanted to explore and discuss a topic we'd chatted about several times before, our pet's impact on nature and wildlife. With me as a vet and Ryan as a 'doggy daycare' business owner but also both passionate conservationists, there is an uncomfortable conflict at times in advocating for pets V's nature. Many pet owners don't even realise the impact their pets are having. And with the colossal rise in pet ownership since the pandemic began, we ask whether our growing pet population is pushing sensitive wildlife and habitats closer and closer to the brink. A tricky topic, but important to educate and support pet owners to minimises the damage that can be done without even realising.Oh and make sure to listen to the end, something funny and adder-shaped happens!Sean's Wild Life podcast is produced by Sean McCormack, co-produced and edited by Thomas Ntinas. Title track 'A Wild Life' kindly composed and donated by Mark Rose.All costs of production have been self funded. If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to tip me by buying me a coffee you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/seanswildlife.If you would like to sponsor a future episode of Sean's Wild Life please email drseanmccormack@gmail.com and visit www.drseanmccormack.com to learn more about Sean's work.

Chatting with marine biologist and fish ecologist Professor Steve Simpson from the University of Bristol about ocean health, his incredible research on rebuilding coral reefs using sound technology, using the underwater soundscape to monitor ecosystem change and the mission he set me and the team of Changing Planet: Britain's Wildest to record the longest ocean sound transect ever completed in UK waters.Sean's Wild Life podcast is produced by Sean McCormack, co-produced and edited by Thomas Ntinas. Title track 'A Wild Life' kindly composed and donated by Mark Rose. All costs of production have been self funded. If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to tip me by buying me a coffee you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/seanswildlife. If you would like to sponsor a future episode of Sean's Wild Life please email drseanmccormack@gmail.com and visit www.drseanmccormack.com to learn more about Sean's work.