Helen Pheasey

Dr Helen Pheasey is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, focusing on wildlife trade and conservation biology. She holds a dual research-teaching role, having instructed undergraduate modules such as Biodiversity, Wildlife Conservation and Management, and Tropical Field Ecology from 2022–2024.

Her 20-year career includes five years at remote Costa Rican field stations studying marine turtles, deploying innovative 3D-printed GPS decoy eggs to track illegal egg trafficking. Additional fieldwork includes Paraguayan nature reserve species inventories and investigations into chameleon export networks, poacher behaviors, and drug-user interactions with wildlife.

Current research examines demographic drivers of wildmeat consumption in West Africa through the Food and Nature Programme. Her work bridges natural and social sciences, emphasizing community collaboration and law enforcement partnerships.

Key projects include analyzing motivations behind sea turtle trade in Costa Rica and developing tools to combat wildlife crime. She collaborates with NGOs and employs citizen science approaches in conservation strategies.