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BVA congress 2004:
address by president Tim Greet
Abridged from a press release issued
by the British Veterinary Association
Filed 14 Oct 04
In September 2001 I was elected to the Executive
of the BVA as Junior Vice President. I took on the role with considerable
trepidation for a variety of reasons. Perhaps most importantly because
I had realised, as President of the British Equine Veterinary Association
(BEVA), just how important was the role of an overarching political
voice - a single voice, to speak for what is without doubt a very
small and diverse profession.
I felt then, that the BVA was the appropriate
organisation to co-ordinate that view, but my experiences as a BEVA
Officer made me concerned whether it could achieve that role effectively
and unite the profession. Now some three years on, we have made
the necessary changes and I believe that we have created the infrastructure
to produce effective representation to Government, and an atmosphere
which has encouraged the solid support of our Divisions, which is
so necessary to that process. Clearly flesh must be added to the
bare bones of the rejuvenated structure of BVA, but we believe that
our ambitious plans for the future will bear fruit.
the traditional mixed practice with a farm animal
bias is
disappearing like snow off a dyke in sunshine
I need hardly remind you all that an effective
BVA has never been more important. We have seen the veterinary profession
changing at a speed unprecedented in our history. In particular
the traditional mixed practice with a farm animal bias is disappearing
like snow off a dyke in sunshine. The metamorphosis of MAFF to Defra
speaks very eloquently of this Government's view about food production
in the UK - very much food with a small 'f'.
We have expressed our dismay at their interpretation
of the report produced by the House of Commons Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs Committee, into the supply of veterinary services
to rural communities. The response painstakingly skirted round the
obvious conclusion that viable veterinary services depend upon viable
farming enterprises. We have also stated repeatedly that there is
public benefit in the prevention of expensive epizootic diseases
such as foot and mouth, in disease surveillance, in the elimination
of zoonotic diseases like tuberculosis, and of course in food safety.
viable veterinary services depend upon viable farming
enterprises
Government cannot simply wash its hands of such
responsibilities leaving everything to market forces. It must weigh
the cost implications of its strategies against the cost to the
nation if disease control fails, as was so painfully illustrated
during and after the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001. The veterinary
profession is not, as recently claimed by Ben Bradshaw, "just
another service industry". We are bound by an ethical code,
which prevents us from simply abandoning uneconomic services, if
animal welfare is likely to be compromised.
However, it has been suggested in some government
quarters that the veterinary profession is unbusiness-like and lacking
an innovative spirit, sentiments which I find quite frankly astonishing.
Give the veterinary profession a viable clientele and we are most
definitely business-like. We do not fear change, and we are quite
prepared to adapt, as we have often had to do in the past. As far
as innovation is concerned, do I need to remind you of a certain
Scottish veterinary surgeon called John Boyd Dunlop, who invented
the pneumatic tyre!
We have already felt the cosh of the Competition
Commission and have accepted many of its recommendations, even though
it is evident that they made little effort to understand the mechanics
of veterinary practice, preferring instead to pursue market purity
whatever the consequences.
Although the BVA is perceived correctly, as the
representative body for veterinary surgeons, we are inextricably
interlocked in a professional respect with the animals under our
care. Our views are therefore seldom simply a matter of expressing
self-interest, but more often giving a view of the impact upon our
clients and patients.
Animal Welfare Bill - the devil will be in that
detail
During the year we have seen the arrival of the
Animal Welfare Bill, which hopefully will offer us an opportunity
to develop or modernise several areas of animal welfare legislation.
As is typical of most current Government legislation, it will be
of the enabling variety, dependent on detail framed in secondary
legislation. The devil will be in that detail, but the veterinary
profession should be able to have significant influence.
There is of course the other side of the animal
welfare coin, that represented by the animal rights lobby. Perhaps
one of the more disturbing incidents of the year concerned our sister
organisation in the United States, the American Veterinary Medical
Association. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
allegedly spent over $100,000 on a full-page advertisement in the
New York Times, which made the most outrageous allegations implying
that the AVMA condoned animal cruelty. The advertisement not only
revealed the e-mail address of the AVMA President, but actively
encouraged people to contact him directly. These days the animal
rights lobby is frighteningly well funded and its more moderate
elements surprisingly influential.
the current Government fashion for stakeholder
meetings provides
single interest groups with an ideal platform
to influence Government thinking:
we must be aware of the potential of this lobby to distort the facts
In fact the current Government fashion for stakeholder
meetings provides them, and other single interest groups with an
ideal platform to influence Government thinking, and its consequent
actions. As a profession we must be aware of the potential of this
lobby to distort the facts. However, we need not fear them, provided
we always make our priority the welfare of animals, and ensure that
our decisions are scientifically based. Government consultation
has resulted in the appearance of a new disease, 'stakeholder fatigue'.
This is the consequence of the BVA and its divisions devoting massive
amounts of time and effort to Government consultation through meetings,
frequently poorly organised, and which inevitably engender reams
and reams of paperwork.
government consultation has resulted in the appearance
of a new disease, 'stakeholder fatigue'
Sometimes the process results in fine words, such
as those in the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy. However there
appear to be precious few resources available to implement many
of them effectively. Those of us involved are often left frustrated
and disheartened. Our smaller divisions have suffered significant
economic loss in providing Government with what amounts to free
advice. My successor Dr Bob McCracken is an expert in this sort
of government tactic. He is definitely a gamekeeper turned poacher!
I am certain, that he will prove most effective in committing Government
to implementation of many of these schemes. My only advice to him
in this regard, was that uttered by Winston Churchill in his last
major speech to the House of Commons, in 1955. He advised his successor,
Anthony Eden to "never flinch, never weary, never despair."
proposed new veterinary school at Nottingham:
a far more logical approach would have been to divert
any additional funding to the existing veterinary schools
This year has seen the proposal of a seventh veterinary
school, at Nottingham, I expressed my concerns about duplication
of effort in this venture, as a far more logical approach would
have been to divert any additional funding to the existing veterinary
schools. However if the venture is destined to proceed it is essential
that the BVA is in a position to provide support to its students,
as we do for those in the other veterinary schools in the UK.
The veterinary profession is changing, as are
the veterinary surgeons within it. The gender profile of the profession
has altered dramatically in recent years, but equally importantly
this generation of graduates, both men and women, has a quite different
expectation of work: life balance, than its predecessors. In whatever
direction the profession moves forward, we must ensure that such
changes are factored in to our calculations.
possibility of a new Veterinary Surgeons Act
At Congress last year, Peter Jinman talked about
the possibility of a new Veterinary Surgeons Act, and how that might
differ radically from previous iterations of the Act. Since then,
the situation has moved on. Whilst it has become clear that we are
not in imminent danger of confronting a new Act, this side of a
General election, or even necessarily soon afterwards, regulation
of the paraprofessions must be encompassed, in some form or other.
Just like the veterinary profession they must always be accountable
for their actions. However, whether this will be under the auspices
of a General Veterinary Council, a Veterinary Health Care Professions
Council, or in some other format remains to be seen. Today's debate
at Congress provided another opportunity to tease out possible scenarios.
The BVA along with the RCVS must help to create a framework which
will be effective and to the benefit of our clients and patients.
The BVA Congress was held in London 1-3 October, 2004
British Veterinary Association
7 Mansfield Street
London
W1G 9NQ
Tel: 020 7636 6541
Fax: 020 7436 2970
www.bva.co.uk
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