European vets call for standards to be secured

Profession should be added to Shortage Occupation List, says BVA

European vets have united in a call to Brexit negotiators not to jeopardise the current high standards of animal health and welfare or public health as Britain prepares to leave the EU.

The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), which represents vet organisations from 38 EU and non-EU countries, issued their appeal ahead of the latest round of negotiations in Brussels.

FVE president Rafael Laguens said animal health, public health, food safety and animal welfare required an international approach as “infectious diseases do not respect borders”.

He added: “They cannot be solved at national level alone. More than ever a continued close collaboration within the European veterinary profession and with international stakeholders is essential for ensuring the interests of animals and people everywhere.

“As we move forwards, we must be careful to maintain the important achievements reached together in the past decades.”

FVE has also called for no reduction in the availability of medicines and securing ongoing surveillance data sharing, such as antibiotic resistance monitoring and systems to track infectious transmissible diseases.

Meanwhile, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) have warned that Brexit will exacerbate current recruitment problems and appealed for the veterinary profession to be placed on the Shortage Occupation List as an immediate priority.

In evidence to the Migration Advisory Committee, the organisations said recruitment and retention of vets had been a growing concern in the UK and warned that existing shortages would likely worsen.

A study commissioned by the RCVS has shown that nearly a third of vets and vet nurses whose nationality is non-UK European are considering a move back home.

BVA vice-president Gudrun Ravetz said: “Vets are vital to our society.

“We are setting out a very strong case to add the profession to the Shortage Occupation List now to help us manage the immediate shortfall in critical veterinary roles, while the UK negotiates a longer term immigration policy that must meet the UK’s veterinary workforce needs post-Brexit without creating disproportionate administrative burdens for veterinary businesses.”

Ms Ravetz said the ideal outcome would be to allow EU veterinary surgeons currently living and working in the UK to stay indefinitely.

Picture: Getty Images. European vets say animal welfare, food safety, public health and the availability of medicines should not be jeopardised, while BVA vice-president Gudrun Ravetz, above, is calling for vets to be added to the Shortage Occupation List.