David Cowdrey

David joined IFAW UK in 2016 and manages the UK Policy & Campaigns team, promoting and advocating IFAW’s international and domestic campaigns working on wildlife crime,  illegal wildlife trade, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), elephants, companion animals and British wildlife, as well as leading the political lobbying within Parliament and with key Government departments.

David was a key lobbying force, driver and major voice, which devised the campaign and lobbied for and helped introduce one of the toughest ivory ban in the world within the UK. Successfully lobbied for Finn’s Law, which protects service animals, lobbied and helped introduce Lucy’s Law which bans the third party sales of puppies and has researched the ivory trade in Europe, delivered papers on wildlife forensics, as well as co-author a Common Hippo status report, to help add additional ivory bearing species to the Ivory Act. 

Previously David has worked for WWF for over 11 years, partly as the Director of the illegal wildlife trade campaign, which changed the law in the UK and made Control of Trade in Endangered Species (COTES) offences arrestable for the first time and introduced the first ever sentencing guidance for Magistrates in the UK on Wildlife Crime. While working at WWF David also worked in communications and covered international conferences including CITES, Climate Change CoPs and International Whaling Commission (IWC) meetings as well as leading the Press & Media Relations team in the UK. 

David has been lucky enough to work on and visit a number of high profile conservation projects in his career including Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, translocating Rhinos in Kenya, radio collaring Lions, Killer Whales in Norway, Golden Lion Tamarin Projects in Brazil, reintroduction of Buffalo in Mozambique and visiting Panda projects in China.