Michèle Hamers has a BSc in Animal Husbandry and Welfare, an MSc in Animal Biology and Welfare and is a member of the Royal Society of Biology and a designated European Professional Biologist. She has been working in the animal welfare field for a decade, initially focusing on captive wildlife behaviour and husbandry but in the last couple of years she has been conducting research on the Canadian exotic pet trade. Michèle also co-authored a paper on regulatory solutions to the trade, use and keeping of exotic pets. As World Animal Protection’s wildlife campaign manager, she is responsible for exotic pet welfare work in Canada and for developing campaigns to move governments and corporations to improve policies affecting exotic animals. With her research background, Michèle strongly believes that independent peer-reviewed scientific data must be the foundation for advancing animal welfare work.