6 Feb 2024
More needs to be done to explain the wider benefits of veterinary and animal wellness sector work, an industry forum was told.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Farmers and vets should work together on prevention strategies. Image: © pressmaster / Adobe Stock
A major industry event has been warned the veterinary and animal health sectors need to do more to explain the importance of their work to the wider public.
The plea came as dozens of delegates gathered in Westminster on 1 February for the first NOAH conference to be held face-to-face since 2019.
Under the theme of “Animal health and securing our future – a vital connection”, the conference heard concerns that the sectors’ roles in protecting public health is not widely understood.
The case for a greater focus on communication was led by BVA president Anna Judson, who argued that all veterinary practice activity has to be people-focused.
She said: “Nothing that we do is going to be effective unless we take people along with us.”
Meanwhile, Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, executive director of HealthforAnimals, said his sector had to stop being “insular” and promote both itself and the wider benefits of the work it does to society.
He said: “We have to start talking about what we do and why what we do is good.
“We’re on a journey and we have to take people along that path. We’re not there yet.”
The case for communication was also endorsed by former NFU deputy president Stuart Roberts, who now chairs the Liberal Democrats’ food and farming working group.
He argued that a lack of access and visibility can encourage negative claims to be made against industries, adding: “If we show people, it’s never as bad as their imagination.”
