Liz has worked as the director of the UK charity, the Captive Animals` Protection Society (CAPS) since 2010. CAPS seeks an end to the exploitation of animals for entertainment and has a strong campaign focus on circuses, zoos, and the exotic pet trade.
Since joining CAPS, Liz has led the charity in its work with partners to seek a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses in England as well as coordinating and publicizing various investigations into the zoo and circus industry. Liz acts as the representative and spokesperson for the charity in the national media as well as in official forums at national and international levels.
Prior to CAPS, Liz worked for almost a decade in the field of primate rescue, rehabilitation and conservation and, most recently, as the Head of Communications for conservation charity, Wild Futures. In 2007 Liz co-founded UK registered charity, Entropika UK, and acted as Legal Representative of the organization`s Colombian partner, Fundacion Entropika, based in the southern Colombian Amazon, until 2009.
During her time in South America, Liz worked extensively with Tikuna indigenous communities in various participatory projects and was fieldwork director of the Aotus Project; a pilot study to establish densities and abundances of the owl monkey in order to present evidence to gain formal protection for the species, which was threatened by large-scale extraction for biomedical research. Since Liz returned to the UK, Entropika continued this vital work, which led to the eventual revocation of the license for the vivisection lab using the monkeys in mid 2012.
Liz is a law graduate with a specialization in Environmental Policy. She is currently a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Essex, School of Law. Her research explores the efficacy of animal welfare legislation in the UK.
Liz sits on the board of trustees for primate conservation charity, Neotropical Primate Conservation - an organization that works to conserve rain forest habitat in Peru. She has been involved with the charity since it was founded in 2007.
Liz lives in Manchester, UK, with her two rescue dogs, Chambira and Barnie.
presentation:
Taking the law into our own hands: Using existing laws as a campaigning tool to achieve abolitionist goals
