Nick Bell-Director of HHC


Nick Bell director

Hello from Nick Bell!

Hello, my name is Nick Bell and I am a veterinary surgeon and director of Herd Health Consultancy. I have international experience dealing with practical herd health and welfare improvement.

The Beginning…

I grew up on a small livestock farm in Herefordshire, England. I have worked on cattle foot health for over 20 years, helping to develop a national foot health programme for dairy farmers.

For several years I worked as a first opinion practitioner and large animal practice director. After that I moved on to working within the welfare and behaviour group at Bristol University. Firstly, as a PhD student and then following on to a Research Fellow. Later, I moved to the Royal Veterinary College. Here I became a senior lecturer and director of production animal tracking rotations, based in the South of England.

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Now…

Since 2006, I have been the founder and director of Herd Health Consultancy. In addition to this, I am an honorary associate professor at Nottingham University. With HHC, I have worked all over the UK and Internationally. Primarily dealing with practical herd health and welfare improvement, dairy herd foot health programmes, training and retailer schemes.

In June 2025 I accepted a Professorship in Western Australia and moved with my wife and two children. Whilst in Western Australia, I will remain a Director of HHC but will be reducing my time to 1 day per week. I will still be accessible remotely; we just need to factor in a time difference. UK earlier mornings will be good for calls!

Please get in touch if you have any questions or queries, look forward to hearing from you- Nick

Qualifications and credentials

  • MA VetMB – veterinary science degrees (Cambridge University) 1999
  • Started consulting in 2004, established Herd Health Consultancy in 2016
  • PhD – doctorate and thesis on alleviation and prevention of lameness in dairy heifers, conducted within the Animal Welfare and Behaviour group at Bristol University (2006)
  • PG cert Vet. Ed. – postgraduate diploma in veterinary education (RVC 2015)
  • FHEA – fellowship of the higher education academy
  • DipECAWBM(AWSEL) – diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Specialists. http://ebvs.eu/colleges/ECAWBM/members/dr-nick-j-bell
  • MRCVS – member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons since 1999
  • European Board Specialist in Animal Welfare and Behaviour Management (sub specialism Welfare Science, Ethics and Law)