Vets march at Edinburgh Pride

As previous blogs have described, the British Veterinary LGBT+ group was formed last year by vet Mat Hennessey, and has since gone from strength to strength. The group launched with bang, with a successful first AGM at BSAVA Congress, and a hugely popular march in Pride in London.

I volunteered to become more involved with the commitee, as I was very impressed by both the aims and objectives of the group, and wanted to help however I could. With no-one else wanting to fill the role, I found myself elected as the Ents Rep at the first AGM. I was gutted to not be able to attend Pride last year due to my mum’s wedding, so this year I’ve been doubly motivated to not just attend, but make it more of a success than last year!

I’ve been involved with a number of committees before, and appreciating the amount of work that had gone into arranging the march at last year’s pride, I was keen to get started early - by forming a subcommittee! We are lucky to have enthusiastic members, and it was easy to find people to help with the organisation. Thankfully our generous sponsors from last year agreed to continue their support this year, meaning we could again fund t-shirts for every wanting to attend, and also enabling us to offer a number of student bursaries, to help cash-strapped students to attend one or both of the planned marches.

Edinburgh Pride

Edinburgh Pride was held on Saturday 17th June, however as none of the committee had previously attended this Pride, it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I headed over the border. Marissa Robson, of the British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society, had been very helpful in the arrangements, and had laid on the most amazing pre-march brunch in one of the university buildings. Around 20 members met, and with bellies full of pastries and prosecco, we headed to the march meeting point. The streets of Edinburgh were quiet, and I have to admit to wondering if we would be the only ones there!

These fears were put to bed as we rounded the corner to an explosion of colour, noise and placards, with the usual joyous atmosphere that is identical at all Pride events.

Having rolled out our trusty banner, we filed into the masses to join the march through the beautiful city of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Pride certainly has a different vibe to Pride in London, with a definite march as oppose to a parade. Despite this, we enjoyed the attention and the interest from the other groups, which we had first experienced last year - our t-shirts sparking endless suggestions as to what the ‘BV' might stand for in front of LBGT+. At the end of the march, we headed to the nearby Edinburgh Meadows to enjoy the sunshine, a picnic and the company of new friends.

Having had a great time in Edinburgh, we are all the more excited to return in Pride in London on July 8th. Around 75 people are expected to be attending, but we have wristbands for 100 so would be delighted to welcome more new members. Full details can be found on our Facebook group, or by email to [email protected].

Why we march

We march because we can

We march for those who can't

We march for those who are too afraid to march

We march for those who are not allowed to march

We march for those no longer with us

We march because we can

With many thanks to our sponsors for their ongoing support - BVA, Purina, Virbac, VetTimes and the Goddard Veterinary Group.

More on this topic

• See Mat's blog post Vets unite to march in Pride 
• See Mat's blog post Rallying the troops for British Veterinary LGBT+
• See Sean Wensley's blog post BVLGBT – good for the profession and society
• Follow @bvlgbt on Twitter
• Join the BVLGBT+ Facebook group or like the BVLGBT+ Facebook page