Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. September 2025 issue
      2. August 2025 issue
      3. 2025 Drills and Seeds supplement
      4. July 2025 issue
      5. June 2025 issue
      6. Cereals event guide 2025
      7. May 2025 issue
      8. April 2025 issue
      9. March 2025 issue
      10. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      11. February 2025 issue
      12. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      13. January 2025 issue
      14. December 2024 issue
      15. November 2024 issue
      16. October 2024 issue
      17. September 2024 issue
      18. August 2024 Issue
      19. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      20. July 2024 Issue
      21. Cereals Supplement
      22. June 2024 Issue
      23. May 2024 Issue
      24. April 2024 Issue
      25. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      26. March 2024 Issue
      27. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      28. February 2024 Issue
      29. January 2024 Issue
      30. December 2023
      31. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      32. November 2023
      33. October 2023
      Featured

      September 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltSeptember 1, 2025
      Recent

      September 2025 issue available now

      September 1, 2025

      August 2025 issue available now

      August 1, 2025

      2025 Drills and Seeds supplement available now

      August 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Beef

    Shortage of vets could interrupt post-Brexit trade

    John SwireBy John SwireJanuary 30, 20184 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    credit Eville & Jones.

    The far-reaching impact of Brexit on personal and professional lives, public policy and trade is creating a perfect storm that could result in a veterinary capacity crisis for the UK after its departure from the EU, said the British Veterinary Association (BVA) President at the organisation’s annual London dinner on Tuesday (30 January).

    Speaking to the Dinner’s 70 guests, including Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity Lord Gardiner of Kimble, BVA President John Fishwick said: “In trade alone, it’s been estimated that the volume of exports requiring veterinary certification could increase by as much as 325%. Depending on the outcome of Brexit negotiations … new veterinary certifications will need to be developed and supervised to ensure the continuation of smooth trade, which will require an increase in the number of specially trained Official Veterinarians to perform this role.”

    Mr Fishwick highlighted that Brexit has brought into sharp relief the UK’s reliance on EU veterinary professionals. In food safety and hygiene alone, it is estimated 95% of Official Veterinarians (OVs) working in abattoirs are from overseas, with the large majority graduating in the EU.

    The BVA President acknowledged the UK Government’s reassurances for non-British EU nationals currently living and working in the UK. However for some, he said, these have come too late: “Research by the RCVS has shown that nearly a third of vets and vet nurses whose nationality is non-UK European are considering a move out of the UK. To prevent an acute crisis in veterinary capacity, BVA is urging the Home Office to add veterinary surgeons to the Shortage Occupation List.”

    BVA is working with Defra, the RCVS and Vet Schools Council on a strategic Veterinary Capability and Capacity Project to ensure the development of a flexible and skilled workforce that meets the UK’s needs for both the immediate and longer term future.

    To emphasise the vital and varied roles fulfilled by vet-led teams today, BVA London Dinner guests – from parliament, government, the veterinary profession and other animal health and welfare organisations – were greeted by an exhibition of BVA members’ photographs, which had been exhibited in the House of CommonsUpper Waiting Hall at the start of the year.

    During his speech Mr Fishwick outlined his Presidential theme of ‘Team vet: working together’. He said: “It is veterinary input and expertise that underpins the UK’s high standards of animal health, animal welfare and public health. We are rightly proud of these high standards … Yet these standards can only be maintained with a robust, sustainable veterinary workforce in place.”

    The BVA President reflected on the public strength of feeling shown about animal sentience and welfare last November and on the number of occasions that he has heard the Environment Secretary speak on the continued need for high standards, saying: “Animal welfare, alongside high animal health standards, provides our trade with a unique selling point that should be maximised post-Brexit. It is for all of these reasons that we believe animal health and welfare should be considered ‘public goods’ in any future UK agricultural policy … since [this is exactly why] we have our global reputation for agricultural produce and high standards.”

    Mr Fishwick shared with guests BVA’s campaigning on animal welfare and animal sentience, which called on the Government to enshrine in UK law the duty on the state to have due regard for animal welfare, as captured in the Article 13 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty.

    Mr Fishwick set out BVA’s other priorities for the coming year, including working towards an end to non-stun slaughter; rolling out mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses across the UK; strengthening veterinary surveillance; and reducing antibiotic resistance. The BVA President highlighted the Association’s recently launched #BreedtoBreathe campaign, he explained: “Across the UK we know there is a growing welfare concern around the rise in popularity of brachycephalic breeds, with 9 out of 10 companion animal vets reporting that the number of flat-faced dogs being brought into their practice has greatly increased over the past three years.

    “We can only make a success of this campaign, and improving animal health and welfare more widely, if vet-led teams work together, be that in clinical practice, public health, government services, academia or research.”

     

     

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleRuma drop-in antibiotics clinic at Dairy-Tech
    Next Article 1PPL Müller cut from March 1st 2018
    John Swire

    Read Similar Stories

    September 2025 issue available now

    September 1, 2025

    Lely expands robotic milking range

    August 13, 2025

    August 2025 issue available now

    August 1, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Pöttinger introduces new silage additive tank

    September 2, 2025

    Samson adds new entry-level TG slurry tanker

    September 2, 2025

    John Deere extends parts solutions

    September 2, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.