Ngaio Beausoleil

Ngaio Jessica Beausoleil is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in animal welfare and the cross-disciplinary field of conservation welfare.

Academic career
Beausoleil completed a PhD titled Behavioural and physiological responses of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) to the presence of humans and dogs at the Massey University. Beausoleil then joined the faculty of Massey University, rising to full professor in 2023. She is Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at the university.

Beausoleil is Chair of the editorial board of the New Zealand Veterinary Journal, the first woman and non-veterinarian to hold the position. She serves as scientific expert on the Australia New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching. In 2020 she was involved in a review of the Victoria State Government's Wildlife Act, as international expert.

Beausoleil's research focuses on animal welfare, and is a leader in the field of conservation welfare, which attempts to understand and mitigate human effects on wildlife. She co-led the development of the 'Five Domains' model of animal welfare, which has been widely adopted both in New Zealand and overseas. She was part of a team that developed a protocol for assessing animal welfare in wild animals. With colleague David Mellor, she has reviewed the welfare of horses during exercise, describing how bridles with bits may increase animal breathlessness and therefore both cause welfare issues and decrease athletic performance. She has also commented on the animal welfare of fast-growing broiler chickens, in comparison to slower-growing breeds, and how animal welfare law could be improved.