A Christmas message from the BVA President

What a year 2021 has been!  Reflecting back on this time last year, I think we all had hoped that 2021 would see a return to our more familiar world and ways of working.  While this did happen to some extent, our profession has faced ongoing severe challenges throughout this year, juggling ongoing covid restrictions and changes to working, post-Brexit challenges and overwhelming pressure from workforce and capacity issues.   

But despite all of this, #TeamVet has continued to do our profession proud, going above and beyond to support animal health and welfare and look after each other.  It’s been wonderful to see the commitment to our Good Workplaces campaign, to see conversations around microaggressions starting, and to see how our profession has embraced the challenging call to action around environmental sustainability and made progress towards genuine positive change for our planet.  

I know this time of year can be hard for veterinary teams working in all areas of our diverse profession, and as we see our friends in other professions relaxing and kicking back from work, for many vets this is one of our busiest times of year.  I want to personally thank you for your continued hard work, commitment to championing animal health and welfare and for looking after each other even under such immense pressures that many of us face on a daily basis.   

I am also continually astounded by the tireless work that the BVA Team does to support us all, and want to raise a glass to them, my fellow officers, and you, our members, for a happy (if not relaxing) festive season.  I think during times like this it’s important to pause and remember what you have achieved, and while we don’t know what’s around the corner in 2022, I have complete faith that our profession will continue to do us proud.   

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!