Doug’s story

 

“Wildlife images are one of the most powerful ways we have of engaging people in the natural world” – Sir David Attenborough.

Initially I trained as a zoologist, however later completed a Masters of Environment and then a Masters of Bioethics. Together, these two qualifications really helped shape my thinking as what type of issues I should be focusing on and why.

After many years in healthcare marketing and being on the board of Environment Victoria, and a governor of WWF Australia (2011-2019), in addition to conservation and wildlife photography, I now run a science/environmentally focused communication consultancy called The Framing Effect, whose aim is to help people influence more effectively, both with words and with images.

I also recently had the privilege of chairing the Victorian Alliance for Platypus-Safe Yabby Traps (2018-2019) – a collective established to prevent the indiscriminate cruel drowning deaths of platypuses in Victoria that occur via the (often illegal) use of enclosed yabby traps. 

My hope is that the images and information I share will inspire people to stop, think, and treat the world a little more kindly.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science (zoology and microbiology), Grad. Cert. Health Economics, Diploma of Education, Graduate Diploma of Bioethics,
Master of Bioethics, Master of Environment (Governance, policy and comms).
Certified drone pilot (RePL) <25Kg (Civil Aviation Safety Authority – Australia) 

Memberships

Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP)
Member of the Ecology Society of Australia Media and Communications Working Group

Clients

My clients include National Geographic, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Audubon, the Australian Conservation FoundationEnvironment VictoriaAnimals Australia, Fairfax media, NewsCorp, New York Times and Australian Geographic.

Conservation/Animal Welfare Policy Achievements

2018-19:   Facilitated the banning of platypus-drowning fishing (Opera House) nets in the state Victoria.
2018-20:  Facilitated that the platypus be listed as a vulnerable species in the state of Victoria, triggering a number of state protections in addition to raising awareness nationally of their plight.
2021:        Facilitated that the use of barbed-wire be banned and proactively eliminated from my local council area (based on animal welfare impacts).
2021:        Facilitated eBAY to stop selling wildlife unfriendly fruit tree netting across all of Australian from September 1st, 2021.
2021-22: Co-chair iLCP ethics committee in the re-writing of their Ethics principles