Sean studied his undergraduate degree in Animal Science at the University of Essex and University of British Columbia in Vancouver, also completing postgraduate seminar modules in Applied Animal Ethics and Welfare Science. He is passionate about the interactions between people and animals, particularly when it comes to breeding practices in domestic pets and how these impact animal welfare.

Graduating from Dublin vet school in 2010, Sean spent the first six years of his veterinary career in domestic, exotic pet and zoo animal practice. He’s treated and advised on the care and welfare of a vast array of species from elephants and big cats to invertebrates, birds, reptiles and amphibians. In 2016 Sean left clinics to work as a veterinary consultant in industry and dedicate more time to his animal welfare advocacy and wildlife conservation work. Sean has been a vocal advocate for improvements in pedigree dog breeding, particularly brachycephalic (flat faced) breed welfare. He’s also been campaigning to close the legal loophole around importation of ear cropped dogs, an illegal cosmetic mutilation in the UK and has raised concerns about the rising popularity of extreme breeding in status dogs such as exotic and XL Bully breeds.

Print, broadcast and digital media

Sean first appeared on Irish TV on RTE’s Supergarden, where he competed against 4 other amateur garden designers to create a show garden on time and on budget over 5 weeks. As a passionate eco-friendly wildlife gardening expert, Sean’s showstopper was a beautiful space designed for people and biodiversity alike. Later he filmed a pilot TV vet show for Channel 4. He has featured as a presenter on BBC Autumnwatch, BBC The One Show and BBC Earth and has been interviewed as subject expert for World Animal Protection, ITV This Morning, ITV Lorraine, Channel 5 News, BBC London, BBC Scotland, Good Morning Britain and ITV News. He’s been ‘vet on set’ for a variety of TV and commercial film and photo shoots involving animals.

Sean writes a weekly national newspaper vet advice column and has written for and been quoted in publications such as The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Huffington Post, Forbes, Evening Standard, Metro, The Telegraph and Daily Mail amongst others. He’s a published author having written a canine nutrition book in 2019.

A skilled interviewer, Sean loves radio and hosts his own podcast, Sean’s Wild Life, exploring topics in conservation, rewilding, sustainability and our connections to nature. He has appeared on many radio shows including Radio 4’s ‘You and Yours’ with Winifred Robinson, Jo Good’s ‘The Barking Hour’ on BBC London and RTE’s ‘Mooney Goes Wild on One’ with Derek Mooney as well as countless regional UK and global stations.

Sean maintains a strong social media presence across various platforms, regularly producing entertaining and educational video content on both pet and wildlife topics and commenting on animal welfare issues. His YouTube channel for Ealing Wildlife Group has been very successful in showcasing local wildlife and the conservation projects the group organises in West London, attracting almost 37,000 subscribers and achieving a viral sensation video with 14 million hits.

Wildlife conservation

Outside of his veterinary work, Sean is a skilled naturalist and highly knowledgeable on ecology and wildlife conservation. His undergraduate dissertation in Animal Science studied the ecology of small mammal populations and their parasite burdens.

Sean set up Ealing Wildlife Group (EWG) in 2016 after being a member or volunteer of various wildlife organisations from a young age including Birdwatch Ireland, RSPB, The Mammal Society, Essex Wildlife Trust and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Through his work with EWG, now a Constituted Community Group with nearly 6000 members, Sean has engaged the local community with wildlife and green spaces. They work closely with the local Council to safeguard and improve habitats for nature and urban wildlife species such as Bats, Great Crested Newts, Hedgehogs, Swifts, Barn Owls and Peregrine Falcons. They focus on community outreach and education, lead bat walks and volunteer habitat management days, and organise a highly successful outdoor wildlife photography exhibition. Most notably they have reintroduced the threatened Harvest Mouse to the borough and are pioneering the Ealing Beaver Project alongside project partners Citizen Zoo, Friends of Horsenden Hill and Ealing Council with support from Beaver Trust and Mayor of London. Sean has recently become an ambassador for Beaver Trust.