Dr Judson introduced her presidential theme in a Members’ Day speech.

Dr Anna Judson has been elected as the new president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) at the organisation’s Members’ Day.

Dr Judson used her first speech as president to announce her presidential theme as ‘a profession for everyone’, saying that her theme will accelerate work to make the profession ‘more flexible, inclusive and sustainable’.

The Sussex-based GP veterinary surgeon graduated from Liverpool Vet School in 1987, before beginning a veterinary career which has included ownership of mixed and small animal practices in rural mid Wales. She has also previously served as president of the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons.

Dr Judson takes over the title of BVA president from Dr Malcolm Morley, who will become senior vice president. As president, Dr Morley’s theme focused on ‘investing in people’, which involved building workplaces which supported practices to recruit and retain staff whilst delivering high-quality care.

The new president’s speech continued her predecessor’s approach to veterinary workplaces, discussing a need to improve the profession’s ability to attract and retain staff, but also stating her focus on environmental sustainability within the industry.

She also addressed the ongoing Competition and Market Authority (CMA) review of the veterinary services market, which is investigating various elements of the industry including pricing, provision of medicines and practice management.

Dr Judson described the review as ‘challenging’, but also called it an opportunity for veterinary teams to highlight their highly-skilled work and to reset the ‘damaging narrative’ in the media on veterinary costs.

Her term will include a focus on animal welfare issues including a ban on the import of dogs with cropped ears or puppies under six months of age, a ban on keeping primates as pets and pushing the Government to address the cause of dog aggression cases.

The new junior vice president is Dr Elizabeth Mullineaux, a locum small animal veterinary surgeon in Edinburgh. Dr Mullineaux teaches wildlife and conservation medicine at universities in England, Scotland and Italy, as well as serving as scientific advisor to Secret World Wildlife Rescue.

Dr Judson will stand as president of the BVA for a year, before a new president is elected at the next Members’ Day

She said: “Being a vet is incredibly rewarding, and I want more people to experience what is a true vocation. We need to build a thriving profession, we need one that attracts and holds onto our people, one that provides the right care at the right time to our patients, and one that contributes positively, rather than impacting on, the planet we share with other animals.

“We must ask ourselves difficult questions about what we could be doing differently to bring about positive change.”

Image © BVA