Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. June 2025
    2. 2025 Innovation supplement
    3. May 2025
    4. April 2025
    5. March 2025
    6. 2025 Buildings supplement
    7. February 2025
    8. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    9. January 2025
    10. December 2024
    11. November 2024
    12. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    13. October 2024
    14. September 2024
    15. August 2024
    16. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    17. July 2024
    18. June 2024
    19. 2024 Innovation supplement
    20. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    21. May 2024
    22. April 2024
    23. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    24. March 2024
    25. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    26. February 2024
    27. January 2024
    28. December 2023
    29. November 2023
    30. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    31. October 2023
    32. September 2023
    33. Health Supplement
    Featured

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025
    Recent

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025

    2025 Innovation supplement now available

    June 4, 2025

    May 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    May 1, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Animal Health

BVA voices concern over future for rural vets

PW ReportersBy PW ReportersFebruary 17, 20153 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has warned today that there must be no “erosion” of the link between vets and farmers and no loss of veterinary services in rural areas.

The BVA message, along with a similar comment from the National Farmers Union (NFU), follows the release of details from Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), concerning the way bovine TB testing is delivered in England from May 1, 2015, along with other Official Veterinarian (OV) services.  Although focused on TB testing, the vet/farmer relationship debate has wider animal health and disease implications, according to both BVA and NFU.

Currently, on-farm bTB testing in England is done by vets working for private businesses who are trained, appointed and paid for by APHA to carry out the work. From May 1 this year, however, APHA will manage bTB testing in England through five newly appointed delivery partners who will be responsible for allocating and monitoring testing in five geographical regions in England.

Following the naming of the new “delivery partners”, BVA president, John Blackwell, commented: “BVA has always argued that changes to the delivery of OV services must not be driven by cost savings alone. We therefore opposed the original decision to move to a system of tendering for OV services because of the potential unintended consequence of undermining the sustainability of the network of veterinary practices in rural areas.

“It is essential that local vets in England continue to play an important role in critical disease testing, such as bovine TB, and other OV services and we will expect the delivery partners to utilise the existing networks of local veterinary practices. We will monitor how the service is being delivered at a local level and feed in any concerns raised by our members to Defra and APHA, particularly in terms of any erosion of the link between vets and farmers and the potential impact of a loss of veterinary services in rural areas.

“APHA must continue to recognise that veterinary surgeons are vital to both individual farms and to the national disease control programmes.”

NFU comment

NFU deputy president, Minette Batters, added: “The long-term relationships farmers build with their vets are hugely important for all aspects of animal health and welfare. These vets have often worked closely with farmers for many years, building up trust, knowledge of the farmer’s business, and a working relationship which allows them to have informed and detailed discussions about how best to keep bTB, and other diseases, out of their herds.

“We are concerned that testing on some smaller farms, or farms which have more complicated tests, will no longer be economically viable for the local vet practice under this new system. It is also important that if there are any problems when the new system is introduced which result in overdue tests farmers are not fined under cross compliance for something that is beyond their control.”

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleBPEX embark on major export show programme
Next Article Food prices are an issue for 50% of those surveyed by FSA
PW Reporters

Read Similar Stories

Defra-funded vet visits expanded to cover multiple herds

June 26, 2025

RVC research highlights evolving swine flu threat

June 11, 2025

Boehringer Ingelheim releases TwistPak bottle for easier pig vaccination

June 3, 2025
Latest News

Sofina Foods acquires NI food manufacturer Finnebrogue

June 30, 2025

Environment Agency farm inspections to increase by 50%

June 30, 2025

Nominate the 2025 David Black Award winner

June 30, 2025
Sponsored Content

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024

Tackle the root cause of PWD with free diagnostic tests

March 1, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Experienced Pig Stockperson – Ref 1757 South East England

    • South East England
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Pig Stockperson Farm Worker – Ref 1756 UK

    • United Kingdom
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Assistant Pig Manager – Ref 1755 Oxfordshire

    • Oxfordshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.