My research interests have included the welfare of farm, companion and captive wild animals, the contamination of the human food chain with heavy metals, and animal and plant production in agricultural systems.
Welfare aspects that I am particularly interested in include adequate animal nutrition, health, housing, transport and reproduction, with an emphasis on cattle, sheep and captive wild animals. In the past I have led research programmes which focused on the mineral status of livestock, forage plants and soils used to grow them. This has included both nutritive minerals, especially sodium, and toxic heavy metals, especially lead and cadmium.
As director of the Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics at the University of Queensland, I co-ordinated research in many diverse aspects of animal welfare and ethics. This included both fundamental science, which is of benefit to our understanding of animal welfare in the long term, as well as applied science, which is of immediate benefit to the animal industries.
Visiting professor, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Adjunct professor, Curtin University