Dr Alan McElligott received his BSc Zoology from University College Cork, PhD Zoology from University College Dublin (Ireland), and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich. After serving as a faculty member at the University of Nottingham, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Roehampton, he joined City University of Hong Kong in 2020.

Dr. McElligott is a member of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) as a well as serving on ASAB’s Education Committee, and the Equality, Diversity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility (EDIA) Committee. He is a member of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE) and serves on ISAE’s EDIA Committee. He Chairs the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Subcommittee.

He is a member of the Hong Kong Government, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) Animal Welfare Advisory Group (AWAG), and is also on the Farm Sanctuary, Animals Advisory Committee (USA).

His research group is focused on understanding how evolution, ecology and domestication affect animal behaviour, cognition and welfare. The current main species for his research are: feral cattle and water buffalo, goats, donkeys and chickens. He believes that public engagement is a vital aspect of animal welfare research, and also actively promotes higher ethical research standards.

Main Website: https://www.alanmcelligott.co.uk/

Water Buffalo project website: https://www.hkbuffaloresearch.org/