10 Jul 2024
Lizzie Lockett said she was “sorry” for the events that inspired a demonstration outside college’s annual meeting, but said it doesn’t have the power to address concerns.
Allister Webb
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Image © TkKurikawa/iStock
Campaigners seeking reform of how veterinary professionals’ conduct is scrutinised have expressed hope that a new Government may be more receptive to their concerns.
A small demonstration by the Justice for Pets Action Group took place outside the venue for the RCVS’ Royal College Day events in central London on Friday 5 July.
The college maintains the body cannot meet its demand for consideration of alleged negligence, although its chief executive said she was “sorry” for the events that had inspired the protest.
But group founder and former RVN Jack Bodimead said many more pet owners had contacted the organisation following a similar protest earlier this year.
Asked if she thought Labour’s election victory could herald a new approach to the issue, she said: “I would hope so.
“It would be fantastic if someone turned round and said ‘We’re listening to you. We will look into this and we will do it.’”
The protesters’ presence was also acknowledged by RCVS chief executive Lizzie Lockett as she reflected on the organisation’s work over the past year.
She said that, while the college aims to meet the needs of animal owners, veterinary professionals and wider society, it was sometimes “almost impossible” to do so.
She continued: “Perhaps coming in this morning you encountered a small group of animal owners protesting outside our AGM. They feel we should be doing more to address veterinary negligence.
“Actually, to do so would be outside of our legal powers and would be very unusual for a professional regulator. But many of them have lost animals in really sad circumstances and we are sorry for the events that led them to our door this morning.”
The action group, which staged an initial protest outside the college’s current London offices in March, wants a separate regulatory body, similar to the General Medical Council, to be set up for the veterinary sector, plus an ombudsman investigation into the RCVS itself.
It believes that current disciplinary procedures effectively prevent the voices of pet owners from being heard and Ms Bodimead said they wanted to represent people who feel they have been “left by the wayside” in those processes.
