Qualifying in 1999, Hayley spent 7 years in mixed practice before relocating to China to work with bears and dogs rescued from the bile-farming industry and illegal dog-meat trade.

In 2012 she became the Welfare and Anaesthesia nurse at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh. Hayley was part of the teaching hospital’s anaesthesia team but also taught nursing and clinical skills in vet schools in low-middle income countries.

She received an MBE in 2018 for Services to Veterinary Education and Animal Welfare and has recently written and delivered a MOOC on Animal Welfare in the clinic.