Press Office

Welcome to the PDSA Press Office, where journalists can find out all of the latest news and information from the UK’s leading veterinary charity.

Please note, we cannot help with general enquiries. If you are a pet owner, head to our contact us page.

If you want to find out more about PDSA, our charitable services, spokespeople or all things pet related, then you have come to the right place.

Our team of expert veterinary staff, and charity professionals, are available to provide comments, interviews and advice.

Please note, all press enquiries must be directed to the Press Office. Please do not use this email or phone number if your enquiry is not media related.

Spokespeople

Need a vet to comment on an animal story hitting the headlines? Looking for a friendly, well-informed vet or nurse to take part in a pet series? You’re in the right place.

There are 49 PDSA Pet Hospitals across the UK, all with experienced and passionate spokespeople who can talk on a wide range of subjects, from fat pets to animal welfare legislation, pet behaviour to health concerns and disease prevention.

Our vets are the first port of call to be spokespeople on a wide range of animal wellbeing topics and appear regularly throughout the news.

To arrange an interview, please see our ‘How to reach us’ details above.

Nina Downing RVN BMid (Hons), Veterinary Nurse

Nina Downing qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2000, following the completion of her training in a mixed animal practice, where she gained experience working with horses and companion animals. Once Nina had obtained her qualification and registered nurse status, she worked out in Australia as a Veterinary Nurse, to gain experience working with exotic species. 

On her return to the UK Nina first joined PDSA, before branching out into emergency care, where she became Head Nurse.  At this stage in her career Nina changed direction and trained as a Midwife, working for the NHS for 10 years before returning to where her passion lay; Veterinary nursing, joining a companion animal and exotic species practice. During this time, Nina trained as a dog groomer at South Staffordshire College, where she returned later to teach students Animal Care and Veterinary Nursing, until she decided to return to PDSA as Veterinary Communications Officer. 

Nina lives in Shropshire with her husband, three children, two dogs, two rescue cats and her ex-racehorse.

Lynne James BVSc DVM CertAVP(SAM) MRCVS, Veterinary Surgeon

Lynne has over 20 years of experience working as a veterinary surgeon in both the UK and Canada. She has worked for PDSA since 2020, managing a team of vets and nurses, writing pet health and welfare content, and coproducing the PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report.

Lynne represents PDSA in a number of external collaboration groups, working with other charities and animal welfare organisations to improve the lives of UK pets.

Lynne lives in Shropshire with her family, including her one-eyed rescue dog and three-legged cat!

Gemma Renwick RVN, Veterinary Nurse

Gemma qualified as a vet nurse in 2009, starting her career at PDSA following completion of her training in small animal private practice. She has worked in different roles throughout the Hospital and was working as an Area Veterinary Manager before moving to The Veterinary Communications Team. Gemma has also worked in referral and emergency settings and has completed a certificate in Emergency and Critical Care.

Gemma has a keen interest in animal welfare, and has sat on PDSA’s Pet Wellbeing Taskforce, their Clinical Scope and Quality Team and represents the Organisation on the Vet Nurse Major Employer Group.

Gemma is based in Hampshire with her young family which includes their dogs Amber and Indy and 3 rescue guinea pigs.

Catherine Burke MRCVS, Veterinary Surgeon

Dr Catherine Burke qualified as a vet from the University of Liverpool in 2018. She is passionate about all forms of animal welfare and has over five years of experience in both private and charity practices.

Keen to share her knowledge and improve the lives of UK pets, Catherine is also an experienced writer and regularly writes for the Pet Health Hub at PDSA, sharing her best advice to new and experienced pet owners.  Catherine is also a spokesperson for PDSA, and regularly does media interviews on a variety of pet health topics.

Catherine lives in Derbyshire with her husband and her black Labrador, Murphy.

Dr Sean Wensley BVSc MSc FRCVS, Senior Veterinary Surgeon for Animal Welfare and Professional Engagement

Sean is Senior Vet for Animal Welfare and Professional Engagement at PDSA. He has a keen interest in wildlife and the environment, and he is a founder Director of Vet Sustain, which is championing sustainability within the veterinary profession.

Sean chaired the Animal Welfare Working Group of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) from 2019 - 2022 and was President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) from 2015 - 2016. He has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects around the world and in 2017 he received the inaugural World Veterinary Association (WVA) Global Animal Welfare Award for Europe. His first book Through A Vet’s Eyes: How We Can All Choose a Better Life for Animals was selected as one of the Financial Times’ Best Summer Books of 2022.

His TV appearances include numerous interviews on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and This Morning; and BBC Breakfast. He has also appeared on The One Show, Cutting Edge, The Big Questions and Channel 5 News. His radio work includes contributions to numerous national and regional radio programmes including BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine and BBC Radio 5 Live.

Sean lives in Belfast.