It is impossible to meet David Butcher and not be completely enthralled. Here is a man who has spent his life working with animals, building institutions, and leading organisations, all while maintaining an unshakable sense of curiosity and ingenuity. And yet, when you ask him about the highlights, he shrugs.No big deal. Just built a zoo from scratch in the middle of nowhere, under budget and almost on time. Just fired the public works department when they became an obstacle. Just changed the way people think about conservation, animal welfare, and agriculture. Just.David Butcher and his partner Amanda Large are both heavily involved in their local community Born in New Zealand, David started his veterinary studies at Sydney University in the early 1960s. In those days, there was no veterinary course available in New Zealand, so students had to go abroad. He began his career in dairy practice in Taranaki at a time when the industry was shifting rapidly. The days of small family-run farms with 30 cows were disappearing, making way for larger-scale operations. New Zealand’s approach to pasture management was evolving, and David was in the thick of it, working with farmers as herd sizes grew into the hundreds.But his career wasn’t just about cows. After a stint working with thoroughbreds, he became disillusioned with the racing industry.What followed was a wildly varied career, each phase as remarkable as the last.Locum work at Taronga Zoo turned into a full-time offer to lead the establishment of what would become the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.In true David fashion, he took a haphazard, bureaucratic project and got it done. He became a quantity surveyor, a project manager, a civil engineer, and when needed, a demolitions expert.He worked with a crew of farmhands, bushies, and practical problem-solvers to build roads, enclosures, and entire animal habitats. And he did it all in 13 months, delivering the project for $2.7 million and $300,000 under budget.Transporting animals became one of the most fascinating parts of his career.Giraffes from Taronga had to be carefully lowered as trucks passed under low bridges. Elephants from England were transported on cargo ships, surrounded by stacked containers forming enclosures.Aboard planes, giraffes had to descend slowly to prevent fainting from air pressure changes. David worked with Qantas to fly animals across the globe, including the first koalas to Japan. Every transport was a logistical puzzle, requiring creative solutions and careful problem-solving.After eight years at Dubbo, he returned to Taronga Zoo, this time as Assistant Director. But the politics of big institutions never suited him. He soon moved on to run the RSPCA, where he worked to reform animal welfare enforcement and modernise the organisation.His career then took him to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), where he spent a decade leading conservation efforts across Australia and the Asia-Pacific.Under his leadership, WWF tackled major environmental issues, including the preservation of marine habitats, reforestation projects, and climate change mitigation.His work with WWF took him to some of the most remote and fascinating places on the planet, collaborating with international organisations and governments to drive sustainable environmental policies. He played a key role in projects that addressed overgrazing in Tibet, the deforestation crisis affecting the Yangtze River, and sustainable farming practices that protected local ecosystems.Later, he led Greening Australia in New South Wales, pushing for streamlined national management in a sector that often tripped over its own bureaucratic complexity.Throughout these roles, David remained committed to veterinary practice.Except for his years at the zoo, he continued to work part-time as a vet at his practice until 2014 when Bankstown Veterinary Hospital was sold. His career also included a stint in North Yorkshire in mixed practice adjacent to that of Alf White, known as James Herriot. He still holds his veterinary registration, though today his continuing education is largely focused on wildlife issues.His stories are endless.Tales of solving a power crisis in Broken Hill by changing dairy cattle feed to disrupt a flock of 10,000 corellas. Of discovering an old army tip site by watching a bulldozer sink into the earth, spitting up army rations as it went.Of an elephant who, given medication disguised in a loaf of bread, promptly spat it out after rinsing her mouth with water.David’s approach to life is simple: trust people, empower them, and get the job done.And if something isn’t working he gets rid of the roadblocks and handles it himself.
