BVA Welsh Branch: reflections from a presidency well spent

Strong relationships

A real highlight has been the strong relationships we’ve had as a branch with Welsh Government, especially the Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths and the CVO. The branch officer team have met with the Minister regularly, and she has taken on board our concerns. We’ve seen several changes made as a result of our advice, an excellent example being an increase in the space requirement for snake vivarium after a meeting in which we raised our concerns about the original proposal.

We always had a great relationship with former CVO Christianne Glossop, working together to make sure vets and government collaborated effectively for the benefit of all animals in Wales. My thanks must also go to Gavin Watkins, who maintained excellent links with Welsh branch  as acting CVO when Christianne left to explore other opportunities last September. Branch Council are now looking forward to building a similarly strong relationship with the new CVO, Richard Irvine.

Important initiatives

The real strength of branch council comes from being actively engaged with many important Welsh initiatives, including:  

• Current Junior Vice President Gwen Rees’s work on AMR has been a highlight for Wales, leading the way for the rest of the UK on antibiotic awareness.
• Past President Sarah Carr has worked on small animal matters with several groups, including Greyhound racing.
• Senior Vice President Ifan Lloyd has represented Welsh branch on groups such as Sustainable farming and TB eradication amongst others.

Having our team members involved in so many key groups means BVA Welsh Branch is known for being reliable and well informed, and well placed to support the needs of vets and animals in Wales.

Former Branch President Neil Paton also keeps us updated on the progress of the Gwaredu BVD scheme, which sadly came to an end during my Presidency. Welsh branch repeatedly makes our concerns clear about the delay in replacing it with a compulsory scheme and risks of a resurgence whilst farmers no longer have access to subsidised BVD testing, and we are hopeful this will recommence once cattle EID is resolved.

Through BVA Welsh branch I sit on the steering group for the new Gwaredu sheep scab scheme, which is supported by Welsh Government funding. Following a positive initial meeting in May, the scheme has now been officially launched, and is also led by Neil Paton. The steering group are agreed that it will not be possible to eradicate sheep scab within the timescales the funding will provide, but the scheme will provide a good start to controlling this disease.

Another success for Welsh branch that I’m especially proud of is the Welsh Government commitment to introduce compulsory CCTV in all Welsh abattoirs, something we had long called for. This follows a scheme providing funding to small abattoirs a few years ago and more recently a consultation which elicited almost universal support for the proposal. The legislation is expected in 2024.

Exciting events

My team and I attended several Welsh events to “fly the flag” for the Branch, including Vets Cymru. I especially enjoyed holding a reception at the Royal Welsh in 2022 for supporters of BVA, farming groups and Welsh politicians, with thanks to Neil Paton and Gwaredu BVD for allowing us the use of their stand. We plan to repeat this in 2023 and thanks to Aberystwyth University for hosting.

As President one of the highlights of my tenure was to attend the official opening of the Veterinary school at Aberystwyth, by the then Prince of Wales. It was good to see so much support for this and a tour of the school showed some impressive facilities for students. Welsh branch have repeatedly campaigned for direct support from Welsh Government to ensure this school is as successful as possible.

Finally, I cannot finish this account of my Presidential term without mention of the RCVS Impact award that I will receive later in the summer, thanks to a nomination from BVA and Malcolm Morley as President. I am honoured to be recognised for my work on welfare at slaughter in this way.

May I wish my successor as much enjoyment from the role as I have had.

Find out more

For more information about BVA Welsh Branch and the President’s role, check out our dedicated webpage.

You can also attend the AGM on 27 June, 2.30pm at Cardiff City Hall. Please RSVP to [email protected]