18 Dec 2025
Former UN CVO says closing vet school would be a “colossal mistake”.
Chris Simpson
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Image: tanibond / Adobe Stock
Thousands of people have lent their support to a campaign to keep the University of Cambridge’s vet school open.
A “Save the Vet School” site was set up shortly after Cambridge announced its Council of the School of the Biological Sciences (CSBS) had proposed the closure of the school, a recommendation which is expected to be discussed by the university’s general board at a meeting in January.
As well as thousands of people adding to a “show your support” counter on the site, hundreds – including Cambridge staff, students, alumni, industry colleagues, Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital clients and members of the general public – have also written comments of support.
One alumnus, former United Nations’ CVO Keith Sumption, wrote in a statement: “I am convinced the ceasing of veterinary education at Cambridge will have long-term negative consequences for the UK – and the university.”
He added: “I am convinced veterinary education at Cambridge can and must continue to be a pipeline for the type of veterinarians who will contribute substantially to life and veterinary sciences globally, and that ceasing to offer this would be a colossal mistake.”
Other alumni to add statements of support include VetCT head of communications Liz Barton and The Royal Kennel Club veterinary and research advisor Alison Skipper.
Dr Barton said the closure would be “a tragic and cumulative loss for the field of veterinary science”, adding: “I urge you not deprive the veterinary profession of some of its brightest talent and most original thinkers.”
Dr Skipper argued the closure would be “short-sighted and ill-founded” and a “tragedy”, warning: “It will have a real adverse impact on canine health in the UK.”
The Association of Veterinary Students has urged its members to lend their support to the campaign and condemned the closure recommendation.
The website also features a strongly worded statement rom the Department of Veterinary Medicine’s (DVM) staff and students describing the decision as “as a bolt from the blue” and urging Cambridge to “reconsider a hasty, unjustified and flawed process”.
Vet and MP Danny Chambers has also hit out at the proposal, arguing the closure will impact the UK’s pandemic preparedness.
In its announcement of the recommendation, a Cambridge spokesperson said CSBS had sought “options for the sustainable delivery of clinical services”, which had been “explored in-depth and weighed up carefully against the school’s strategic vision and plan, their implications for teaching and research, financial impact, and achievable implementation”, but it found “no viable long-term solution”.
The university has also indicated its DVM would remain open if the recommendation is supported and that its research would continue.
