Professor Clive Phillips studied agriculture at undergraduate level and obtained a PhD in dairy cattle nutrition and behaviour from the University of Glasgow in 1983. He then lectured in farm animal production and medicine at the Universities of Wales and Cambridge, conducting research into cattle and sheep nutrition and welfare. In 2003 he became the inaugural holder of Australia's first Chair in Animal Welfare, at the University of Queensland, and established the Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics. He has published over 430 scientific articles on animal nutrition, welfare and management in journals and has authored or edited 15 books and over 50 book chapters. He also edits a book series for Springer on the welfare of animals and CABI's Animal Behaviour and Welfare Cases. As Australia's first professor of animal welfare, Prof. Phillips devoted his time to developing animal welfare and ethics research and teaching, with a focus on good nutrition. His research is concerned with many different animals: livestock during transport, dogs and cats in shelters, racehorses and zoo animals, and also with our ethical responsibilities towards animals. He is particularly interested in understanding and improving animal welfare in Asia and conducts regular workshops and research projects in China and nearby countries. In 2010 he established the on-line journal Animals, which is now one of the leading journals in the field. In 2009 his book The Welfare of Animals: The Silent Majority was shortlisted for an Australian Museum Eureka prize. In 2012 he received the Australian Museum Eureka Award for Scientific Research that contributes to Animal Protection and in 2025 The Australian named him Australia's most cited veterinary scientist. He has been involved in the development and implementation of State and Federal government welfare policies and chaired both the Queensland and Western Australian Governments' Animal Welfare Advisory Boards. He also chaired the UK's Agriculture Ministry Bovine Tuberculosis husbandry review panel. He was the Independent Member of the UK's Milk Development Council and Member of the UK Government's Select Committee to review zinc-cadmium sulphide dispersion tests conducted by the Ministry of Defence during the Cold War.
