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She almost didn’t apply for the job but RSPCA Australia’s chief science officer, Dr Suzanne Fowler, is so glad she did because now she gets to devote her days to improving the lives of animals. By Rachel Smith
Carving out a career in veterinary science when you’re allergic to lots of animals probably isn’t on the cards for most people, but Dr Suzanne Fowler isn’t most people.
Now the chief science officer at RSPCA Australia, Dr Fowler has had a fascinating career journey, even if it didn’t start with a burning desire to work as a vet. “I had to beg my parents to get a dog, as my family all have pretty nasty allergies!” she says. “I wasn’t that typical kid with lots of pets. At uni, I met those who’d wanted to be vets since they were five years old—but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do until much later.”
It wasn’t until Year 9 or 10 that one of Dr Fowler’s science teachers noticed she had a love of biology, and suggested she do a 10-week development course at Adelaide Zoo. “I got to see a giraffe being born and a lot of other amazing stuff that really opened my eyes to that world—and so I decided [the veterinary world] was the direction I wanted to go in.”
Private practice and beyond
Dr Fowler’s first job was in a mixed practice in country South Australia—a two-year role she describes as a ‘baptism of fire’. “I enjoyed the emergency side of the job but I was often the one in sole charge at the practice, and calling my boss or mentor to make sure I was making the right calls. I learned a lot, but it probably wasn’t the ideal situation for a new graduate.”
A move to Canberra because of her husband’s job saw Dr Fowler fetch up at ANU, looking after research animals—and there she remained for the next 15 years.
“I never went back to private practice after that,” she says. “I missed emergency medicine but ending up in more senior management roles, and lots of problem-solving and high-pressure situations filled that void pretty quickly. I ended up in lots of different jobs at ANU, including facility veterinarian and managing the research facility—and at the peak of it being the largest facility in Australia, I was managing 60 staff which is very different from the vet world. It gave me a real passion for leadership and mentoring and seeing others thrive.”
The path to animal welfare
As part of her university work, Dr Fowler increasingly saw the need for more change in the research world, to focus on the animals and advocate for the best outcome for animals in the research setting. That led her to a welfare and ethics role in the university, and then to the RSPCA. She very nearly didn’t apply for the job, thinking she wasn’t ready.
“But I took the leap,” she says. “And I remember ringing my mum in that first week and she asked how the job was going. I told her in one day I’d spoken to people about sheep, elephants, fish, dogs and some wildlife. I loved the dynamic nature of it straight away.”
After 10 months, she had figured out that working in animal welfare is not about ticking things off your to-do list each day. “There’s no short-term reward; it’s all about long-term goals. There are lots of stories we have to keep following up on.”
Life at the RSPCA
While animal welfare is becoming more hands-on and enjoying more public awareness, it’s also becoming more political—so it’s a balancing act for the RSPCA and for Dr Fowler’s team. “There are seven of us in the science and policy team and each person has their specialty, from an agricultural background to policy experience.”
Sometimes I do pinch myself—for although it’s challenging and there are frustrations for all sorts of reasons, I’ve been given a massive opportunity to influence the future of animal welfare.
Dr Suzanne Fowler, chief science officer, RSPCA Australia
A typical week is varied, and involves working with industry, government and different stakeholders. “One day, I might be having meetings at Parliament House with ministers and their advisers, and the next I’ll be talking to industry representatives. I’ve started to go out on farm a little bit, but I don’t get much opportunity for that. There are lots of varied interactions with different people, so I learn lots and I get to share knowledge with others too.”
Education is also a big part of what Dr Fowler does, which involves working on the RSPCA website’s Knowledgebase. “It’s a free access library of hundreds of articles about different species and how to care for them and what the welfare issues are, further helping us to advocate for animals, alongside making sure the public are aware of current issues.“
Campaigning for better conditions
The RSPCA campaigns Dr Fowler’s team are working on are equally varied too, including the Federal Government’s announcement of new poultry standard guidelines to phase out battery cages by 2036. “It won’t happen unless every state and territory agrees to implement that change, so it’s something we have to keep talking about,” she says.
The team are also hoping to phase out live sheep exports because of the welfare impacts on animals. “The changing climate is putting animals under more and more stress as they’re shipped long distances across the equator,” she says. “We also talk to people about being prepared for the animal welfare impacts of things like floods and other disasters.”
The team is also trying to deal with the issue of cat management, which Dr Fowler says is most relevant to vets on the frontline. “We’re in a lot of discussions about promoting pre-pubertal desexing, which we think will make a significant change in managing that.”
The hard side of the job
The fact that change happens so slowly and that Australia is lagging in animal welfare are just two challenges the RSPCA are constantly dealing with.
“We’re a pretty well off and advanced country, but we have a long way to go—for example, most of Europe has pretty much banned battery cages and are looking to get rid of cages altogether for layer hens. We’re just only starting to talk about banning battery cages by 2036, so that’s a really good example of how far behind we are compared to the rest of the world,” she explains.
She agrees that veterinary science is going through a challenging period at the moment. “There’s a shortage of vets and a lot of people don’t want to work in practice, which is fair enough, but I’d love to see us find a whole new balance for vets and vet nurses and everyone who works in the industry,” she says. “I’d love to see more focus on the connection of people, animals and the environment—I think that veterinary science can only grow from that.”
And despite almost passing on her dream job, she’s so glad she applied.
“Sometimes I do pinch myself—for although it’s challenging and there are frustrations for all sorts of reasons, I’ve been given a massive opportunity to influence the future of animal welfare,” she says. “I enjoy thinking about what the future can bring and coming up with strategies for how we might get there.”
