Working For The Greater Good
Catherine Robinson meets Ribble Valley-based Sean Taylor, one of the few vets in the UK with specialist qualifications in Veterinary Forensic Science. He is on a mission to make the world a better place
Sean Taylor, BVSc MSc (Vet Forensics) GPCert (F&L) MRCVS MAE, joins me in the kitchen of the Bolton-by-Bowland home he shares with his wife Melissa, their family and a quantity of animals that Noah would be proud of. Within seconds there’s a pack of friendly dogs at my feet, a brew in my hand and a warm welcome. I soon get used to the interruptions from the parrot, commenting from over my left shoulder.
“Becoming a vet is just something that I always wanted to do,” Sean says, with a smile. “I’d volunteered at Greenhalgh and Heal’s in Burnley from the age of eight and they always told me there would be a job for me if I qualified.”
Young Sean had a talent for the sciences and despite the fierce competition for places at veterinary school and the doubts of his teachers, who claimed: “Lads from Burnley don’t get to be vets,” he obtained a place at the University of Liverpool School of Veterinary Science. When he qualified in 1994, Greenhalgh and Heal were as good as their word and Sean returned to work in their mixed practice.
It was in his new role at Greenhalgh and Heal’s that Sean’s interest in veterinary forensics was first piqued. The practice had a good relationship with the local RSPCA inspector and Sean found himself treating RSPCA cases, writing associated reports and providing witness statements for related court appearances. This inspired him to undertake further study. He acquired a Certificate in Veterinary Forensics & Law and later became the first vet in the UK to achieve a Masters Degree in Veterinary Forensic Science from the University of Florida.
He is now an Honorary Lecturer in Veterinary Forensics at the University of Liverpool, where he is also researching a PhD in non-accidental injury to domestic animals. He explains his research as building on the diagnostic indicators for child abuse undertaken in the 1960s.
Sean is also a practising member of the Academy of Experts and regularly attends court where he describes his role as assisting the layman to understand what he has seen: “The animal’s body is a mini crime-scene and context is everything.”
As one of only a handful of vets in the UK with specific qualifications in Veterinary Forensic Science, Sean has made multiple appearances on Channel 5’s The Dog Rescuers and on ITV’s Judge Rinder. Recognising the reach of television, Sean persuaded the producers to pitch a series, which would showcase his forensic work: “I saw it as a sort of CSI programme that would investigate real life cases,” Sean says. A half hour episode of ‘Catching the Animal Killers’ was filmed and presented to the commissioning editors of a mainstream channel, who had expressed an interest: “But they wanted me to water it down before they’d take it,” Sean shrugs. “I wasn’t prepared to do that. I’m not interested in fame for fame’s sake, or in becoming a TV vet. This wasn’t about me, it was about getting the animal welfare message out to as wide an audience as I could. It was about education.”
Sean is philosophical about his own emotional resilience: “It makes no difference to the outcome of a case, whether I let it affect me or not. My aim is to improve the collective consciousness. Have you ever asked yourself why, when you’ve chosen to open a window and let a fly out rather than to swat it, you feel better? It’s because we are all connected and your action has raised the level of the collective consciousness.”
Melissa, a qualified veterinary nurse and animal behaviourist, shares this philosophy. From their home, she operates the Ark Education Barn, an educational facility providing animal welfare courses including those for children with special educational needs and disabilities and those in need of Animal Assisted Therapy.
Sean links their missions: “In so many of the court cases I attend, mental health issues or special needs have played a part and we’re trying to address that. Parents can leave their children at the Ark Education Barn if they want to, but many of them choose to stay. They enjoy being around the animals and it means that we’re influencing the whole family.”
He tells of a child with ADHD who had been chasing chickens around the barn. With Melissa’s help, he eventually sat quietly for an unusual length of time, feeding the chickens from his hand. “People need to be educated on how to treat animals, but they also need to be more understanding of life’s challenges – of what some people are facing.”
Meanwhile, throughout all his media work, his additional study, his court cases and his unofficial handyman role at the Ark Education Barn, Sean has remained a practising vet. He works at both Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary and at a Bury surgery where he performs operations: “It helps me keep it real,” he smiles.
The Taylor’s words underpin their actions. Their philosophies interlock with their behaviours, revealing an integrity that is both rare and inspiring: “Education is the key,” concludes Sean.
