Cambridgeshire vet suspended over false horse declarations

A Cambridgeshire-based vet has been suspended for six months after he provided false information relating to the export of horses.

An RCVS disciplinary committee found Nebojsa Petrovic’s actions had breached public trust, but had also been influenced by pressures he was unlikely to face again.

The case relates to the testing of horses purchased at a Newmarket sale in October 2021 for export to Serbia.

Samples were then sent to the APHA to be tested for “a number of Leptospira serovars, as well as glanders and equine infectious anaemia” to meet Serbian import requirements.

Suspended

A newly published report of the hearing said that, while initial samples for five of the horses tested positive, second samples that Dr Petrovic took to the Weybridge laboratories himself returned negative results in four cases.

Subsequent DNA testing revealed there was only a match between samples for one of the five horses in question, while further matches were detected between first samples of two others and the second samples of their counterparts.

Dr Petrovic, who had been working as an OV and was based in Soham at the time, was suspended from that role in January 2022.

He subsequently admitted making a mistake on the export certificates and said that both the COVID pandemic and Brexit had “significantly added to his workload and affected his working conditions”.

He also stated he had grown up in Serbia and liked to help Serbian people to obtain affordable horses, but insisted he received no financial reward for that and did not own a share in the animals in question.

During the hearing, Dr Petrovic admitted six of the nine charges against him, including signing export certificates that falsely stated the horses had tested negative for leptospirosis rather than positive, falsely claiming the second samples were from the same horses and that he had checked their microchips or equine passports.

But he denied failing to take sufficient steps to prevent exportation of the horses – a charge that was found not proved – and that his actions relating to the second set of samples, the certificates and his dealings with the APHA were misleading and/or dishonest.

Acted dishonestly

The committee concluded Dr Petrovic had acted dishonestly when he told APHA staff he had checked the horses’ microchips or passports and that he was satisfied he had properly identified them, but not over the submission of the second samples or signing the export certificates. It also found he had shown remorse for his actions.

The committee’s report said suspension would send a “clear deterrent message” to the profession and argued that removal from the register would be disproportionate for what it described as a “well-intentioned and otherwise competent” vet who “posed no significant risk to animals and who was fit to continue in practise”.

The committee earlier heard Dr Petrovic had practised in the UK since 1994 without any previous disciplinary referrals and no complaints had been made since the incident. The panel also received six positive character references on his behalf.