Jane Dalton is a trained journalist, and writes news, features and opinion pieces at The Independent, often specialising in animal welfare and conservation. She frequently exposes cruelty and wrongdoing through hard-hitting exclusives. She is also interested in adult social care. During her early career on local papers, Jane won the Feature Writer of the Year award at Senews and was runner-up Reporter of the Year for the Emap media group. A graduate in French and Russian, she was regional editor at The Sunday Times before joining The Independent.