Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)
A public lecture with John Fishwick, President of the British Veterinary Association.
The European Union has a huge influence on the veterinary profession here in the UK. Most of our animal health and welfare legislation comes from the EU and many of our vets and veterinary nurses have trained there. Our likely departure from the EU in March 2019 throws into sharp focus some of the issues facing the profession.
In this lecture, President of the British Veterinary Association John Fishwick considers some of these challenges, such as how we maintain a resilient veterinary workforce, and how we uphold welfare standards in both our pet animals and animals kept for food production. He will explore how vets influence the health and wellbeing of farmed animals throughout the whole food chain, and the need to maintain vigilance for guarding against both new and more familiar diseases. The issue of antimicrobial resistance and the rise of superbugs is one that threatens us all. This talk will consider what the role of vets is in this global issue and how it fits in to the concept of One Health which now dominates thinking across human and animal health.
If you have any questions about this event, please contact enquiries@ice.cam.ac.uk.
John Fishwick MA VetMB DCHP DipECBHM MRCVS is a veterinary surgeon who holds the post of Senior Lecturer in Dairy Herd Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London. He is currently President of the British Veterinary Association. He is a UK Recognised Specialist in Cattle Health and Production and a European Specialist in Bovine Health Management.
John is an alumnus of St John’s College Cambridge, qualifying as a vet in 1985. As an undergraduate he conducted a survey of the black Rhino population in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia working on foot with anti-poaching units. He spent several years in practice dealing with all the main species in Cheshire and Essex before moving to the Royal Veterinary College in 1990 to run the university’s farm animal teaching practice. In 1997 he relocated to Saudi Arabia as head veterinarian to the world’s largest fully integrated dairy company farming over 20,000 high producing cows.
He returned to the RVC in 2003 where until recently he was head of the Department of Production and Population Health and head of the Farm Animal Health and Production Group before taking partial leave for his current role at the British Veterinary Association. He has previously been President of the British Cattle Veterinary Association and his local Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Veterinary Association.
This event is part of the Madingley Lecture series of public talks at Madingley Hall, home of the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE). This lecture series, given by eminent speakers across a wide range of subjects, is an important part of ICE's commitment to public engagement.
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