Former farming advocate defends her appointment to RSPCA boss from critics

Jan Davis is excited to be settling in to her new role as CEO of RSPCA Tasmania, but not everyone is happy about her appointment.

RSPCA Tasmania’s new CEO has asked for a fair go from critics of her appointment who she says have unfairly accused her of arguing against animal welfare in the past.

Former Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis began her new role as CEO of the animal welfare charity on Monday.

More than 100 applicants vied for the position after the resignation of Dr Andrew Byrne who held the position from 2018 and was also the organisation’s chief vet.

Ms Davis said she was an animal lover and was attracted to the position by her ability to bring the skills she has developed working in advocacy and policy roles to a cause she has “a great deal of empathy for”.

Ms Davis’ appointment to the role has been challenged by some in the community including animal rights advocates who say she has been a supporter of live export trade, factory farming, the ‘ag-gag’ legislation and the use of 1080 poison-baiting.

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Director of Stop Tasmanian Animal Cruelty, Suzanne Cass, wrote to the Mercury this week saying Ms Davis’ appointment was a contradiction of RSPCA’s national policy.

She said Ms Davis had been “arguing against animal welfare and animal advocates for many years”.

Ms Davis said her argument had always been that the financial burden of industrial changes should be shared by the community, not heaped on farmers.

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Jan Davis has been appointed CEO of RSPCA Tasmania. Picture: PATRICK GEE

She said farmers had worn the cost of community expectation in areas like animal welfare, tree clearing and chemical use.

“Then we go and buy the cheapest product that we can, not recognising that all of those expectations add cost,” she said.

“So my answer has always been, we can do whatever we want, if someone pays for it and we then make every product that’s sold in Australia meet the same standards.”

Ms Davis asked her critics to give the RSPCA’s “talented, intelligent” board members credit.

“We had these conversations and they needed to be comfortable with what I said and where I sat, and they are, and I am, and everybody else should give me a go,” she said.

Ms Davis said she was lucky to inherit the organisation in its current state.

“It’s no secret RSPCA a few years ago went through some really tough times.

“But the board and the team have done an extraordinarily good job in getting it to the point we’re at now.

“The budget is in the black, we’re doing a lot of stuff that we’re meant to be doing and focused clearly on mission delivery.”

Ms Davis said she won’t be looking to shake things up.

“This is a very focused organisation with a very committed and talented team of people at board level and at staff level.

“I’m just going to settle in and see how we go.”