BVA young vet winner‘s ‘whirlwind’ experience as nomination deadline approaches

A clinician has talked about her “whirlwind” experience of being crowned BVA Young Vet of the Year last year ahead of the nomination deadline for the 2026 awards.

Mixed practice vet Leah Hunter claimed the accolade in 2025, following a phone call from then-BVA president Elizabeth Mullineaux inviting her to the BVA Awards ceremony as one of three finalists being the first she knew about being nominated.

Speaking to the Vet Times Podcast, she described her win as “wonderful, but a complete shock. I was really honoured to even have been named as one of the final three, never mind to have been named the winner, and then after that it’s been a bit of a whirlwind”.

Dr Hunter has been discussing a mentoring scheme with award sponsors Zoetis; winners receive an engagement opportunity with the pharmaceutical company and £1,000 in prize money as well as a year of free BVA membership and career development opportunities such as BVA ambassadorship.

Nomination deadline

The nomination deadline for the 2026 BVA Awards is fast approaching on 16 March, with the winners to be announced at a special awards dinner at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Thursday 11 June as part of BVA Live.

For the young vets who will be in contention this year, Dr Hunter said: “My advice would be to just enjoy it, it’s a really wonderful experience.

“I found the support from our clients and the community here [in Orkney] just so lovely, and I would recommend to anybody in the process to just try and enjoy it in between all the busyness and the madness of work too.”

Dr Hunter graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2021.

‘Very privileged’

She joined Flett and Carmichael Veterinary Surgeons in Orkney soon after having “fell in love with” the island and said accepting the job offer was a “complete no brainer” after meeting her “really supportive” bosses and colleagues.

The surgeon said her charity work as an Orkney Nature Festival trustee, a British Divers Marine Life Rescue medic and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme volunteer has “brought an immense joy” to her life and that her mixed practice experience has served her well.

She continued: “It definitely has been a learning curve. When I first came here, I don’t think I’d ever seen a seal before… and now we’re at the point that me and my partner have a seal unit at our house basically, and we have seal pups here that are needing rehabilitation.”

Dr Hunter added: “I feel very privileged that I can do that sort of work alongside my job.”