Professor Andrew Knight

Biography

I am originally from Australia, and ever since helping launch Australia's campaign against the live sheep trade to the Middle East in the early 1990s, I have tried to advocate on behalf of animals. For nearly a decade prior to 2012 I practiced veterinary medicine, mostly around London. In 2013 - 2014 I Directed the Clinical Skills Laboratory and taught animal ethics, welfare, veterinary practice management, and surgical and medical skills at one of the world’s largest veterinary schools in the Caribbean.

I am now Professor of Animal Welfare and Ethics, and Founding Director of the University's Centre for Animal Welfare; Adjunct Professor in the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University, Queensland; an EBVS European and RCVS Veterinary Specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law; an American and New Zealand Veterinary Specialist in Animal Welfare; and a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

My books include The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare (2023) and The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments (2011). I have around 150 academic and 80 popular publications, an extensive series of social media videos, on plant-based companion animal diets, climate change and the livestock sector, invasive animal research, educational animal use, humane clinical and surgical skills training, and other animal welfare issues. I have delivered more than 200 presentations at conferences and universities internationally, and have have organized or chaired seven conferences and seminars. I regularly work with animal welfare charities to advocate for animals, and am frequently interviewed by the media.

I have been honoured with 14 awards and 22 research grants, including the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics Shomer Award, a University Values Award and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association Humane Achievement Award, all in 2019. I enjoy teaching, and was delighted to receive a University Student-Led Teaching Award in 2017.

My informational websites include:

www.HumaneLearning.info

www.AnimalExperiments.info

www.petfoodinnovation.info

www.livestockimpacts.info

Areas of expertise

Animal welfare science, ethics and law

Publications

Selected publications from recent years: 

• Knight A, Phillips C and Sparks P (Eds) (2023). Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare. Abingdon, UK: Routledge

• Knight A (2022). Call for evidence-based positions on vegan diets. Vet Times 52(29), 19.

• Knight and, A. and Zemanova, M.A. (2022). Animal use in veterinary education. In B. Kipperman and B.E. Rollin (eds). Ethics in Veterinary Practice, Hoboken, NJ, US: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119791256.ch18.

• Knight A (2022). The weight-of-evidence position on vegan diets. Vet Times 52(21), 23.

• Knight A, Huang E, Rai N, Brown H (2022). Vegan versus meat-based dog food: Guardian-reported indicators of health. PLoS ONE 17(4): e0265662. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265662.

• Knight A, Mace J, O’Brien C and Carter A (2022). Development of a screencast-based flipped classroom to enrich learning and reduce faculty time requirements in an animal welfare master’s degree. J Vet Med Educ. e20210117. doi: 10.3138/jvme-2021-0117.

• Knight A, Mace J, O’Brien C and Carter A (2021). Development of a screencast-based flipped classroom to enrich learning and reduce faculty time requirements in an animal welfare master’s degree. J Vet Med Educ.

• Carvalho C, Herrmann K, Marques TA and Knight A (2021). Time to abolish the forced swim test in depression research? Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research. 3.
• Knight A and Satchell L. (2021). Vegan versus meat-based pet foods: owner-reported palatability behaviours and implications for canine and feline welfare. PLoS ONE 16(6): e0253292. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253292.
• Knight A and Light N. (2021). The nutritional soundness of meat-based and plant-based pet foods. Revista Electronica De Veterinaria 22(1), 1 - 21. http://veterinaria.org/index.php/REDVET/article/view/92.
• Zemanova MA, Knight A and Lybæk S (2021). Educational use of animals in Europe reveals reluctance to implement alternatives. ALTEX 38(3), 490 - 506. doi: 10.14573/altex.2011111.
• Schmidt K, Duffield D, Rodriguez Ferrere M, and Knight A. (2021). Farmed Animal Welfare Law in New Zealand: Investigating the Gap Between the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and its Delegated Legislation. Wellington: New Zealand Animal Law Association.
• Rivera SN, Knight A and McCulloch SP (2021). Surviving the wildlife trade in Southeast Asia: reforming the ‘disposal’ of confiscated live animals under CITES. Animals 11(2), 439. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/2/439.
• Zemanova MA and Knight A (2021). The educational efficacy of humane teaching methods: a systematic review of the evidence. Animals; 11(1):114
• Knight A, Parkinson C, MacCormack P, Twine R, Peixoto M and Pederson H, et al. (2020). Transition to plant-based diets will help us fight pandemics. Latin American Journal of Nature Rights and Animal Law, 3(2), 143-148. 
• Open Cages, Knight A and Wiebers D (2020). A British Pandemic: the Cruelty and Danger of Supermarket Chicken. UK: Open Cages.
• Carvalho C, Varela SAM, Marques TA, Knight A and Vicente L (2020). Are in vitro and in silico approaches used appropriately for animal-based Major Depressive Disorder research? PLoS ONE. 15(6), e0233954. 
• Carvalho, C., Peste, F., Marques, T. A., Knight, A., & Vicente, L. (2020). The contribution of rat studies to the current knowledge of Major Depressive Disorder: results from citation analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1486. 
• Knight (2020), Should New Zealand do more to uphold animal welfare? Animal Studies Journal, 9(1), 114-149.
  
• De Boo J and Knight A (2020). The Green Protein Report: Meeting New Zealand’s Climate Change Targets by 2030 Through Reduced Reliance on Animal Agriculture. Auckland: Vegan Society of Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Carvalho, C., Varela, S. A. M., Bastos, Knight A, et al. (2019). The relevance of in silico, in vitro and non-human primate based approaches to clinical research on Major Depressive Disorder. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals, 47(34), 128139.
• Carvalho, C.; Gaspar, A.; Knight, A. and Vicente, L (2019). Ethical and scientific pitfalls concerning laboratory research with non-human primates, and possible solutions. Animals 9, 12. 
• Knight A (2019). Critically evaluating animal research. In Herrmann K and Jayne K. (2019). Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Change. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
• Carvalho C, Alves D, Knight A and Vicente L (2019). Is animal-based biomedical research being used in its original context? In Herrmann K and Jayne K. (2019). Animal Experimentation: Working Towards a Paradigm Change. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
  
• Lymbery P Knight A et al. (2018). Governments should unite to curb meat consumption. Nature 563, 325.
• Knight A (2018). Injuries in Racing Greyhounds. Cleveland, UK: Greyt Exploitations.
• Knight A and De Boo J (2018). The case for veganism. In D’Silva J and McKenna C. Farming Food and Nature: Respecting Animals, People and the Environment. London: Routledge. 238 - 247.
• Knight A (2018). Uncaging New Zealand’s Sows: Scrutinising Farrowing Crates. Wellington, New Zealand: SAFE.
• Grevemeyer B and Knight A. (2018). The development of a clinical skills laboratory at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals 46, 177-183.
  
• Benz-Schwarzburg J. and Knight A. (2017). Cognitive relatives yet moral strangers? In: A. Linzey and C. Linzey (Eds). Animal Ethics for Veterinarians. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press. 45-77. [reprinted from J Anim Ethics 2011; 1(1): 9-36].
• Knight A. (2017). Advice requested via social media. In Practice 39, 478-479.
• Knight A. (2017). Painful truths: what systematic reviews reveal about the utility of animal research. Proceedings of the ANZCCART Conference 2017, Maintaining Social Licence in a Changing World, Wellington. Wellington: ANZCCART. 31-36.
• Knight A. (2017). Owners cannot afford treatment. In: S. Mullan and A. Fawcett (Eds). Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases. Sheffield, UK: 5M Publishing. 199-201.
• Knight A (2017). Samples & freebies. In: S. Mullan and A. Fawcett (Eds). Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases. Sheffield, UK: 5M Publishing. 244-246.
• Knight (2017). Difficulties in obtaining consent. In: S. Mullan and A. Fawcett (Eds). Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases. Sheffield, UK: 5M Publishing. 302-304.
• Knight A (2017). Acting without consent. In: S. Mullan and A. Fawcett (Eds). Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases. Sheffield, UK: 5M Publishing. 312-315.
• Knight A (2017). Zoonosis. In S. Mullan and A. Fawcett (Eds). Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases. Sheffield, UK: 5M Publishing. 436-438.
• Knight A. and Watson K.D. (2017). Was Jack the Ripper a slaughterman? Human-animal violence and the world’s most infamous serial killer. Animals 2017, 7, 30.
• Knight, A. (2016) Hunters fail to silence critics. Veterinary Times, 46 (24). 28.
• Anderson, R., Waayers, R. and Knight, A. (2016). Orca behavior and implications for oceanaria confinement and use in performances: aggression increases and behavioral pathology. Animals, 6 (8).
• Knight, A. and Leitsberger, M. (2016). Vegetarian versus meat-based diets for companion animals. Animals, 6, 57. (This quickly became the most viewed article in the journal Animals).
• Carvalho C., Crespo M.V., Bastos L.F., Knight A. and Vicente L. (2016). Contribution of animal models to contemporary understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ALTEX, 33(3): 243-249.
• Knight A. (2016) A request for euthanasia: handling the client. In Practice 38: 358-359.
• Knight A. (2016) Can hunts control their hounds? Vet Times 46(15): 5.
• Knight A. (2016) Horse manure: the new secret weapon in cetacean conservation research. Vet Practice 48 (1): 34.
• Knight A (2014). Conscientious objection to harmful animal use within veterinary and other biomedical education. Animals, 4, 16-34.
• Knight A. (2014) Weighing the harms and benefits: invasive animal research. The Biochemist 36 (3): 30-33.
• Knight A. (2014) Everyday ethics: dealing with dark desires [feline case]. In Practice 36: 54-55.
• Knight A. (2014). Animal welfare and rights: pet and companion animals. In: B. Jennings (Ed.), Bioethics (4th Edn). Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA. 269-270.
• Knight A. (2013) The Australasian regulation of scientific animal use: a chimera of protection. In: P. Sankoff, S. White and C. Black (Eds.) Animal Law in Australasia: Continuing the Dialogue (2nd Edn). Annandale, NSW, Australia: Federation Press. 264 288.
• Knight A. (2013) Animal agriculture and climate change. In: A. Linzey (Ed.). The Global Guide to Animal Protection. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, pp 254-256.
• Knight A. (2012) The potential of humane teaching methods within veterinary and other biomedical education. ALTEX Proc  1: 365-375.
• Knight A. (2012) A critique of the Bateson Review of Research Using Non-human Primates. AATEX 17 (2): 53-62.
• Benz-Schwarzburg J and Knight A. (2011) Cognitive relatives yet moral strangers? J. Anim. Ethics  1 (1): 9-36
• Knight A. (2011) The Costs and Benefits of Animal Experiments, Palgrave Macmillan Series on Animal Ethics (hardback 2011, paperback 2013)