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Rob Takes the Law of the Jungle into His Own Hands

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 February 2006, 09:00 CST

By David Jones reports

ROB Ogden is a businessman, though it is the scientist in him that shines through as he talks about his work in helping to protect endangered species in tropical rainforests and elsewhere and stamp out illegal trade of animal products.

His independent genetic analysis and consultancy company Wildlife DNA Services may only be a small firm on a university campus in North Wales, but it's leaving a big footprint across the world.

The Bangor-based company provides services for wildlife conservation, wildlife crime investigation and biological research.

"We are, as far as we know, the only dedicated forensic wildlife laboratory in Europe although there are other genetics labs in the USA and Canada and, I believe, Australia," says Ogden.

"Our main areas of work are conservation and forensics. In conservation we do quite a lot of work with zoos looking at the diversity within captive-bred populations and helping them manage their populations on a Europe wide basis to maintain genetic diversity.

"In the wild we have worked with a highly endangered population of red squirrels on Anglesey and we have done some work on red squirrels in mid Wales."

The company uses DNA profiling to identify individuals within an animal population and sequencing to look at relationships within populations and to identify species.

Many of the species that the business will work on are the sort that often feature in media headlines - tiger and bear populations under threat in Asia from loss of natural habitat and/or poachers, for example.

In fact, Wildlife DNA Services sent a small team out out to Malaysia just before Christmas to run a DNA forensic training course to build capacity in that country to tackle global wildlife crime.

"We weren't working with any particular species, but there are tigers, sun bears and orang utans under threat. That was out first really exotic trip - we normally get samples sent to us from all over the world and we do the work here and send the results back," says Ogden.

He and his co-director Ross McEwing set up the business three years ago after completing PhDs at Bangor university's biology department.

"Ross did his PhD in molecular ecology - using genetic techniques of study to look at populations of blue whales in the north Atlantic.

"I did mine on the evolution of Caribbean lizards. I spent a lot of my time out in Martinique which was fabulous.

"We had been looking at genetic techniques for wildlife analysis. We saw quite a few applications we thought we would like to explore commercially -one of them using genetic information to help with conservation management and another using DNA forensic techniques to work with wildlife as opposed to humans.

"We were both interested in using what we had learned in an applied way. And we believed that someone should be doing it.

"We were not particularly keen on staying in academia - there aren't many jobs in our field unless you stay in academia which itself is increasingly underfunded - and we had enough respect for one another to think we could co-operate.

"Ross is very good at lab management, developing new techniques and getting things working. He is also an ideas man. I focus more on analysis and management and maybe a little bit more than him on the business side."

The business, although it has incubator office accommodation in University Innovation Bangor, on the ninth floor of the chemistry block, is totally independent of the university but does have collaborations and links with it.

It was able to draw on support from the Knowledge Exploitation Fund and an interest-free loan from Finance Wales to get up and running.

"We have always been profitable, mainly because we have not paid ourselves very much and our overheads are low," points out Ogden.

"Last year we had a turnover of pounds 100,000 and this year we expect it to be between that figure and pounds 130,000.

"The company is essentially a research company and I cannot imagine it growing beyond a maximum of 20 staff. But we would like to grow it and explore different areas.

"We are moving into food analysis and are in the process of setting up a sister organisation, Food DNA Services, with a couple of other people in the university.

"Our customer base tends to be governmental agencies, universities, wildlife and conservation-focused NGOs and police forces. We have just secured funding from the NERC for two years to develop a new technique.

"We work with plant species as well, although the majority of the work is on animals. The species that get funding tend to be the charismatic ones."

Are there any particular barriers to growth that must be overcome?

Ogden replies: "We are in a niche and it is quite a narrow niche. I think that in 10 years time there will be a lot more scope in the market for this type of work, but at the moment we are having to drive the market.

"There are people who know they need to use our genetics research but who are unable to do so because they do not have the funds.

"I hope that in five years time we will be larger and more stable. We would like to be a world player in wildlife forensics, if we are not already."

Wildlife DNA Services was awarded funding from the SMARTCymru programme for the development of an easy-to-use, field-based identification kit that can be used in the battle against illegal wildlife trade.

The immunoassay product, to be manufactured by Tepnel Biosystems, of Deeside, will be used by the World Society for the Protection of Animals to protect the Asiatic black bear and the sun bear whose gall bladders are extracted for their alleged aphrodisiac properties.

He foresees Wildlife DNA Services maintaining close links with the University of Wales, Bangor, even if the company has to move to larger premises. Several promising initiatives are under way including a collaboration with the university on wild cod stocks and fish ranching.

"I do feel more and more like a businessman. However, I am lucky that I do business in an area that I am extremely enthusiastic about and that it is a green businesses that is doing a lot for the environment.

"Would I be running my own business if it was involved, not in conservation biology, but making shower curtain rings? Probably not."

But is money important to Ogden and McEwing, who has a 50% stake in the business?

Ogden jokes: "Clearly not, otherwise we would not be doing what we are doing. Money to live on: yes. Money beyond our wildest dreams to the extent that it wrecks our lifestyles: no.

"We are just trying to make a living out of what we enjoy - and doing what we think is important."

We have been profitable ...but mainly because we have not paid ourselves very much

question& ANSWER

Age 30

Hometown Southampton but now resident in Bangor

Marital status Married

Education First degree in marine biology from Liverpool University

Interests Badminton, travel and football

Source: Daily Post; Liverpool

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