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BVA president praises Scotland for leading the way on animal welfare
Sean Wensley
Almost 100 guests attended the BVA's Annual Scottish Dinner held at the Scottish Parliament.


Sean Wensley highlights country's efforts to protect animal health

BVA president Sean Wensley has praised Scotland for leading the way on tackling animal welfare problems.

Speaking at the organisation's Annual Scottish Dinner (13 September), Mr Wensley also called on the Scottish government to "ensure hard-won ground on animals welfare was not lost".

"It seems fitting to me that my penultimate speech as BVA President is in Scotland, a country that has led the way on tackling many animal welfare problems," he said.

Mr Wensley highlighted the Scottish government's intention to introduce a Bill to ban the use of wild animals in travelling circuses.

He also outlined some Scottish initiatives, like the government-led review into exotic pets and projects between the veterinary profession and the NHS to advocate the health harms of passive smoking.


Commenting on Scotland's ongoing efforts to protect animal health and control animal disease, Mr Wensley said:

“Close Government, farmer and vet links must continue to progress the excellent work that has been done so far into the now-notifiable disease Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PED); towards eliminating mange from pig herds; and on the eradication scheme for BVD.


"We'd like to see the Government capitalise on this momentum and support farmers and vets in the development of control measures for Johne's disease and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis amongst others.”


Almost 100 guests attended the BVA's Annual Scottish Dinner held at the Scottish Parliament.


Guests included the cabinet secretary for rural economy and connectivity Fergus Ewing MSP, parliamentarians, key representatives from animal health and welfare organisations, and colleagues from across the veterinary profession.

Image (C) BVA

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.