14 Aug 2026
Decision was made as part of efforts “to secure a sustainable future” for university’s veterinary medicine course.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
University of Cambridge. Image: Alexey Fedorenko / Adobe Stock
The University of Cambridge has confirmed seven staff will be made redundant after announcing the impending closure of its farm animal veterinary service.
The service will close on 4 September, with the university directing clients to other local practices.
Although plans to close Cambridge’s vet school were scrapped in February following an extensive campaign, university officials were accused of lacking transparency and failing to hold proper consultation with staff and students.
In a statement, vet school dean Jane Dobson and Department of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) hospital managing director Nick Bexfield said the DVM had worked closely with the university to secure a sustainable future for its undergraduate veterinary medicine course.
The statement said the DVM concluded a period of formal staff consultation on proposed organisational change affecting its farm and equine clinical services, and large animal clinical skills, on 6 July.
It said it consulted with potentially affected staff and trade union representatives, and engaged with students, reviewing feedback and making several amendments to the proposals as a result.
The statement continued: “Following the formal consultation process, the decision made by the Department of Veterinary Medicine, supported by the university’s general board, was to close the University of Cambridge Farm Animal Veterinary Service, which to this point, has provided farm animal clinical rotation experience for final-year (sixth-year) veterinary students, as well as veterinary care to local livestock owners.
“The Department of Veterinary Medicine are working closely with farm clients to support their transition to alternative veterinary care providers and are committed to supporting affected staff throughout this process. The outlined changes will result in seven staff redundancies.”
In an online FAQ page, the decision was described as “part of a wider programme of work to secure a sustainable future” for the DVM.
From September, sixth-year farm animal clinical rotational teaching will be delivered in partnership with an external provider, which “will provide students with access to a larger, more consistent and more varied farm animal caseload, enhancing their learning opportunities”.
The DVM will retain full responsibility for curriculum design, academic oversight and assessment, and it is said the change will not affect the delivery of farm animal teaching through the first five years of the degree.
The department has also decided to retire and rehome its on-site herd of teaching horses used for equine husbandry and clinical examination teaching of first-year, fourth-year and fifth-year students, and insisted the teaching of this course component will continue via expanded use of existing equine partners.
The Cambridge Equine Clinic, the Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital and its associated Small Animal General Practice are said to be otherwise unaffected and will continue to operate.
Responding to the news, BVA president Rob Williams said: “We understand that the closure of Cambridge vet school’s farm unit will be disappointing news for staff and students, but also for the local farming community who rely on its valuable veterinary provision.
“However, in light of its recent threat of closure, we recognise the challenges facing Cambridge vet school to deliver a financially sustainable veterinary degree programme and the need for a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach, to ensure veterinary education at Cambridge continues.
“We look forward to seeing more detail about how the university will deliver its clinical farm rotations so that all its qualifying vets meet RCVS ‘day one competencies’.”
