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Dr. Michelle Sinclair is an International Animal Welfare Program Manager, an academic and an author from Australia. With a background in animal welfare science, psychology, human resources and international project management, Michelle is focussed on building collaborative and effective international strategies for improved animal welfare protection across borders. Her work aims to better understand the stakeholders capable of making impactful change for animals around the world and she conducts research to identify barriers, opportunities, mutual benefits, and solutions with the goal of engaging traditionally adversarial parties into strategic collaboration to improve animal welfare. Adhering to the impact principal of doing the best for the most, much of Michelle’s intersectional work has focussed on farmed animals, with particular emphasis on Asia. Her most recent projects include working with leaders in the livestock industry in China to better understand the opportunities for developing farmed animal welfare; understanding the perspective of egg producers in China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines towards moving to cage-free systems along with the barriers, solutions and most impactful support; and investigating the attitudes of the general public in Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States towards animals, their welfare, key consumption and farming practices and capacity to engage in higher welfare industries. She continues to publish her research to support improvement in international development and consults with NGOs to build their international programs.

In addition to being a Visiting Fellow with the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School, Michelle is also affiliated with the Medical School at Stanford University in California and the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Queensland in Australia where she completed her PhD. Michelle also holds a Master of Science (MSc) in International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law from the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

Michelle is passionate about international development in animal welfare, human welfare, racial and social equality, refugee, and asylum seeker protection, and exploring cultures. Being Australian, she also cares about the conservation of sharks, snakes and spiders and enjoys her life in domestic servitude to rescued beagles.

You can read all of Michelle’s published work, and her work during her fellowship is featured below.