Professor the Lord Trees
of The Ross in Perth and Kinross
About Lord Trees
Professor the Lord Trees graduated as a vet in 1969 from the University of Edinburgh. Following a research expedition to Kenya and a year in mixed general practice, in Derby, England, he completed a PhD on bovine babesiosis (including field research in Nigeria), and then worked for Elanco as veterinary advisor for their Middle-East/North African operations based in Rome.
In 1980 he was appointed Lecturer in Veterinary Parasitology at the University of Liverpool, based in the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Appointed Professor of Veterinary Parasitology in 1994, he went on to become the Dean of Liverpool’s Faculty of Veterinary Science from 2001 until 2008.
Funded by over £15m of external grants, Lord Trees’ research has produced over 160 scientific papers and numerous presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. A major research programme involved naturally-occurring Onchocerca species infections in cattle in Cameroon to aid the development of drugs for therapy and vaccines for potential use in humans at risk of, or infected with, onchocerciasis – the cause of River Blindness – in sub-Saharan Africa. Concurrently, a second major research programme was on the newly discovered (in 1989), globally distributed, protozoan parasite of cattle and dogs, Neospora caninum, which helped elucidate transmission and other aspects of the epidemiology of the infection and informed potential preventive measures.
Lord Trees also has an active interest in veterinary education and was President of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers from 1996-97. He was a Council member of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, a founding Diplomate of the European Veterinary Parasitology College, and an Executive Board member of the World Association for Veterinary Parasitology. A council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) from 2000-2015, he was President of the RCVS in 2009-10. He retired from the University of Liverpool in 2011. He was Chairman of the Board of the Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh 2011-2020, and is currently Chief Veterinary Advisor of the Veterinary Record and In Practice. In March 2016 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE), the RSE's highest class of Fellowship. He is also a Fellow of the RCVS and of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and is a Vice-President of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
In 2012 Lord Trees was appointed a Life Peer (through the House of Lords Appointment Commission route) to sit on the Crossbenches and whilst primarily involved in policy related to the wide remit of the veterinary profession, he also takes an interest in a range of other issues including tropical health, higher education, international development, energy and the environment, and science and technology in general. He was a member of the House of Lords EU Select Committee from 2015-2017, and of its Sub-committee on Energy and Environment (which includes agriculture) from 2014-2017. He is Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases and is Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare. He Chairs the United Against Rabies Forum of the WHO/OIE/FAO tripartite, the Trustee Board of the Parliamentary Science and Technology Information Foundation, and the External Advisory Group of the UKRI programme ‘Tackling Infections’. As of January 2024, Lord Trees now sits on the House of Lords Select Committee on Environment and Climate Change.
Positions Held
As a member of the House of Lords, peers have the opportunity to participate in various committees and join all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs). Committees in the House of Lords investigate policy recommendations, proposed laws and the activity of the government for a specific policy area. They consist of a small group of appointed peers who meet regularly in both private and public meetings to investigate and produce a report on a particular topic. Lord Trees currently serves on the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Select Committee, which is launching an inquiry on methane. APPGs are informal cross-party groups which are run by, or for, members of the House of Commons and/or the House of Lords, and often involve external stakeholders. They offer a platform for non-governmental organisations to convene, address pressing issues, deliberate policy choices, and interact directly with parliamentarians. See below for a list of the office APPG officer roles held by Lord Trees.
All-Party Parliamentary Groups
Co-Chair
This group aims to raise the welfare of animals nationally and internationally and engages multiple stakeholders from NGOs to industry. Currently the group are focusing on farmed fish welfare at slaughter, extreme breed conformations, provision of small abattoirs, enforcement of animal welfare legislation, amongst other matters. Lord Trees is the Co-Chair alongside fellow veterinarian, Dr Neil Hudson MP.
The APPG on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) aims to raise the profile of NTDs which affect more than 1 billion people, often in some of the most impoverished communities in the world. The group aims to strengthen UK leadership and investment in the fight to end malaria and NTDs. Lord Trees has a particular interest in rabies and onchocerciasis (African River Blindness) and acts as Co-Chair alongside Dr Lauren Sullivan MP.
Established in 2008, the APPG on Science & Technology in Agriculture aims to facilitate discussion among UK politicians and stakeholders to understand the pivotal role of science and technology in modern agriculture and to address any barriers hindering their adoption. They focus on the increased pressures to farming globally and in the UK from climate change, food security, and resource protection and how this re-shapes the future of farming.
Timeline of Key Moments in the House of Lords
January 2024 - present
January 2014 - 2017
July 2013 - present
Appointed a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Environment and Climate Change. Currently, the committee are commencing an open inquiry on methane.
Lord Trees served on the House of Lords EU Select Committee (2015-17) and on its EU Energy and Environment Sub Committee (2014-17).
Appointed a Crossbench Peer through the House of Lords Appointment Commission. Since its inception in 2000, it has recommended a total of 67 people for peerages.