Roxane Kirton

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT ROXANE KIRTON

I am an experienced equine veterinary leader with a career dedicated to improving welfare outcomes at scale across the UK’s equine charity sector. As Head Equine Vet at the RSPCA, I provide strategic clinical leadership for the country’s largest animal welfare operations—shaping policy, setting welfare standards, overseeing complex casework, and supporting frontline teams working with some of the most vulnerable horses in the UK.My professional practice is grounded in the belief that sound welfare is created through evidence-based veterinary care, behavioural insight, and compassionate leadership. Alongside 15+ years in equine clinical roles, I completed an MSc in Clinical Animal Behaviour (Distinction) to deepen the integration between veterinary medicine, behaviour, and welfare assessment—an approach I now embed across national operations, staff development, and multidisciplinary decision-making.In senior leadership roles I have: • Set and delivered welfare and veterinary strategy for large, complex, multi-site equine operations • Led clinical governance, quality improvement, and risk-based decision frameworks • Provided expert support in legal, enforcement and crisis-response cases, ensuring robust welfare outcomes • Developed and delivered training, professional standards and policy for internal and external stakeholders • Built collaborative partnerships across charities, enforcement bodies, academia, and the wider equine sector • Represented organisations at industry, regulatory and cross-sector forums to influence welfare practice nationallyAlongside my leadership work, I continue to contribute to advancing equine welfare science through behaviour consultancy, CPD delivery, and cross-sector knowledge exchange.I am particularly passionate about uplifting welfare standards across the entire charity and rescue ecosystem, empowering teams, and ensuring that strategic decision-making remains firmly anchored in the lived reality of horses and the people who care for them.Open to connecting with professionals across animal welfare, behaviour science, veterinary leadership, and charity sector strategy.