DECADES AS A CAMPAIGNER AND PHOTOGRAPHER
This website mainly showcases Dave Currey’s wildlife and landscape photography – one side of his life that has constantly invigorated and inspired him. Although most of his adult life he has been actively campaigning for wildlife and our environment, photography has always been in his heart.
Dave graduated with a degree in Photographic Arts in 1976 and was described in a photography magazine in 1982 as “one of the new breed of naturalist photographers, with a commitment to conservation and the style of a photojournalist.” Since then he has not only used his photography for environmental change, but also his writing, film-making and leadership.
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As co-founder of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in 1984, its executive director for ten years, senior campaigner and board member for twenty five, Dave has developed, led and won campaigns with his focused strategies, persuasive documentation, team work and sheer hard work. His undercover exploits, illustrated with strong photographic images, have closely allied him with the media, his photo-spreads appearing in magazines such as LIFE, The Sunday Times, BBC Wildlife and The Telegraph Magazine.
Dave’s name is associated with many conservation successes. His published photo-spread on the plight of Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India acted as a catalyst to raising over £80,000 for the park, its forest guards and communities, further protecting the rhinos, tigers and river dolphins. His pioneering international undercover work has gained protection for a diverse range of wildlife including wild birds, whales, dolphins, elephants and their habitats.
His writing has appeared all over the world and he co-authored To Save An Elephant with colleague Allan Thornton, describing their work to secure the ivory ban in 1989. His highly successful novel Stripped - a thriller set in Borneo - was published in 2010. His ebook for the ipad Galapagos Photography was published in 2014.
Photography and film played a large part in campaigns to end the international trade in wild birds. BBC Wildlife Mag (L) and Sunday Times Mag (R)
Dave was famously chased by one of the world's largest ivory smugglers,. George Poon, when filming with ITN's Des Hamill in Ajman, UAE. This cartoon appeared in the Young Telegraph after 3 ITN News specials revealed EIA's findings and pushed for an ivory ban, 1989. After intensive campaigning an international ivory ban was agreed later that year.
He has worked on film documentaries for the BBC, Nat Geo and appeared in and co-produced a multi-award winning seven part series for Independent Television (ITV) “Animal Detectives”. On behalf of EIA he fronted TV appearances for decades, his most recent in 2011 in a documentary "Blood Ivory Smugglers" shown on Nat Geo Wild.
In 2018 and 2019 he was WildAid’s Southern Africa director, negotiating agreements with the Zimbabwean and Mozambican governments to share WildAid’s communication network and skills, to promote conservation within country and internationally.
More recently he has provided photography, IT support and advice to his civil partner, wildlife artist Gary Hodges. They have shared their lives since 1978 and travelled extensively to view and photograph wildlife. Dave’s photos have been donated to a number of wildlife charities.
Dave was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal in 1990 for his "work in protecting elephants and dolphins" and EIA was awarded the Global 500 Roll of Honor by UNEP for "outstanding contributions to the protection of the environment" in 2001.
For a full biography check him out on Wikipedia.
