Trustee's
Jes Hooper
Jes holds an MSc in Primate Conservation and is a current PhD candidate in Anthrozoology at the University of Exeter. Her doctoral research focuses on human-civet interactions and "disappearance" in the Anthropocene, the resulting research from which earned her membership to the IUCN SSC Small Carnivore Specialist Group.
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Jes' published academic works include the topics: civet coffee production and authentication, civet coffee tourism, the rising phenomenon of Civet Lover pet keeping clubs, animals in tourism, animal ethics, and media portrayals of animals during times of crises.
Jes founded the Civet Project in 2019 to address the lack of civet representation in the public, academic, and conservation spheres despite the numerous threats they face. The organisation is currently in the process of registering as a charitable foundation.
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Jes is currently co-host of two international conference, Anthrozoology as International Practice, and Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism. She is also in the process of co-editing a special journal issue and one book volume on the topic of ethical human-animal relations.
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Ms. Trinh Thi Mai
Mai holds an Erasmus Mundus International Master degree in Applied Ecology and has 6 years’ experience working in conservation field for both national and international NGOs.
She is currently working for the Saving Threatened Wildlife project, WWF in Viet Nam and is a member of IUCN SSC Small Carnivore Specialist Group. Mai has research experience in wildlife farming, civet coffee, small carnivore biodiversity surveying and virtual and physical wildlife trade. Previously, Mai worked for the Owston’s Civet breeding program and social behaviour change projects, where she had the opportunity to sharpen her knowledge, and gain experience in project management and fundraising.
In addition, Mai's current position has allowed her to significantly improve her partnership and policy advocacy competences. She is passionate about finding a holistic way to conserve wildlife in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia.
Mai has also been a grantee of many prestigious international programs and conferences including YSEALI PFP, SCCS Australia, ASEAN in Today’s World.
Zak Showell
Zak Showell is the Director of Shaldon Wildlife Trust, a small BIAZA and EAZA member zoo, based in Shaldon, Devon, England.
Since the age of 5 he dreamed of working in zoos and is getting the chance to live his childhood dream. He cut his teeth in the zoo industry as a registrar and became well known for his work with zoo records and animal transfers.
With over 14 years’ experience in the zoo industry he is involved in many BIAZA committees and runs four EAZA breeding programmes including the Owston’s civet breeding programme.
Shaldon Wildlife Trust has long standing links to Save Vietnams Wildlife and he was fortunate enough to attend the Owston’s Civet conservation planning meeting back in 2019. He is also a trustees of BIAZA and an advocate and advisor to the Mountain Marmoset Conservation Programme.
Prof. Carol Kline
Carol Kline is a Professor and the Director of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program at Appalachian State University.
Her research interests have historically focused on topics such as foodie segmentation, craft beverages, agritourism, tourism entrepreneurship, and tourism in developing economies, however now it solely focuses on animal ethics.
Carol is the founder of Fanimal Inc., an international non-governmental organization that helps individuals find animal-focused and environmentally-focused careers. She also co-hosts the Emerging Voices for Animals in Tourism conference and has published extensively on the topics of tourism and animal ethics.
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Carol's most recent book "Exploring non-human work in tourism: From beasts of burden to animal ambassadors" builds upon the theoretical connections of animal ethics, agency, and welfare as it foregrounds specifically the work that animals perform in the industry.
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Lucy Newton
Lucy Newton holds a bachelor’s degree (with Honours) in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare, and a foundation degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Conservation. In university, Lucy became interested in human and animal interaction, and she would like to pursue a Master's degree in Human and Animal Interaction in the future. Lucy is keen to understand and develop strategies to improve the relationships held between humans and animals.
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Lucy's dissertation was an investigation of the welfare impact of bioactive enclosure on poison dart frogs (Dendrobatidae) in captivity. Bioactive enclosures are becoming more popular and ‘experts’ on YouTube say they improve frogs and reptile welfare, yet there is notably little research on the impact of bioactive enclosure on welfare.
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Currently Lucy is an Assisted Head Birdkeeper to a private estate that has over two hundred parrots including the Amazon parrot (Amazona), Conures (Aratinga solstitialis) and Illiger's macaw (Primolius maracana).
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In 2024, Lucy will be volunteering for a private reserve in South Africa where she will work with anti–poaching teams to protect white rhino (Ceratotherium simum). This will include working alongside rangers to manage the reserve through activities such as controlled burns, ecological surveys, training anti–poaching canines and dehorning rhinos.
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Lucy hopes to research the impact of civet’s musk on the African palm civet (Nandina binotata) and African civet (Civettictis civetta).