Deborah Reynolds CB served as the

Chief Veterinary Officer Chief veterinary officer (CVO) is the head of a veterinary authority (typically a national government service comprising veterinarians, other professionals and paraprofessionals). They have the responsibility and competence for ensuring or supervisi ...

(CVO) of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from March 2004 until she retired in November 2007. She is usually referred to as Debby Reynolds, or less often as Deborah Reynolds.

Chief Veterinary Officer

Reynolds was the

(CVO) of the

and for the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United K ...

(DEFRA) from March 2004 to 9 November 2007. As CVO, Reynolds was the British government's main spokesperson on

animal health Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

, and was in the British nationwide news repeatedly to explain policy and answer questions about outbreaks or control of serious animal infections, such as

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

, H5N1 bird flu,

bovine TB ''Mycobacterium bovis'' is a slow-growing (16- to 20-hour generation time) aerobic bacterium and the causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle (known as bovine TB). It is related to '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'', the bacterium which causes tub ...

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, vi ...

and

bluetongue virus Bluetongue disease is a noncontagious, insect-borne, viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently cattle, yaks, goats, buffalo, deer, dromedaries, and antelope. It is caused by ''Bluetongue virus'' (''BTV''). The virus is ...

. On 9 November 2007, DEFRA announced that Reynolds had opted to take early retirement at the age of 55 years, and that the Deputy CVO

Fred Landeg Frederick John Landeg (born 1948) was the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) of the United Kingdom and for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), from November 2007 to April 2008. Landeg was born in 1948, and educated at Sir Wa ...

would take over temporarily as

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

CVO with immediate effect. She was invested as a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in the New Year Honours 2008.

Personal life

Reynolds is a keen gardener and birdwatcher, currently serving as President of the Berkshire Ornithology Club and she was a Board member of British Trust of Ornithology until 2023. Her husband, David keeps and shows game fowl,

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s and bantams.

Career

*1970 to 1975 - Studied veterinary science at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, a 5-year course, gained an honours degree, BVSc *1984 -

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in the epidemiology of enteric viruses in calves, University of Reading *1975 to 1984 - Research Officer at the

Institute for Animal Health The Pirbright Institute (formerly the Institute for Animal Health) is a research institute in Surrey, England, dedicated to the study of infectious diseases of farm animals. It forms part of the UK government's Biotechnology and Biological ...

*1984 to 1994 - Worked in the Veterinary Investigation Service of the State Veterinary Service and moved to the

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

(MAFF) in 1991 where she worked until 1994 *1994 to 1997 - Head of the Bacteriology Department at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency *1997 to 2001 - Head of Endemic Animal Disease and

Zoonoses A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or prion) that has jumped from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human. ...

at MAFF, which subsequently became DEFRA *2001 to 2004 - Veterinary Director of the

Food Standards Agency , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Food Standards Agency.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , ...

*March 2004 to 9 November 2007 - Chief Veterinary Officer for the United Kingdom and Director General for Animal Health and Welfare at Defra *2008 to 2013 - Non Executive Director, NHS Berkshire Primary Care Trust *2008 to 2013 - Board member Health Protection Agency *2008 to present Affiliated Professor Colorado State University *2008 to 2019 - Consultant for US Department of Agriculture, developing National Animal Program with government of Georgia *2009 to 2015 - Chairperson for National Trust on Natural Environment Panel *2013 to 2017 - Chairman of Governors The Abbey School, Reading UK *2016 to 2017 - Consultant to Food and Agriculture Organisation, Kyrgyzstan *2019 to 2021 - Consultant to USDA in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Debby Alumni of the University of Bristol British veterinarians Companions of the Order of the Bath Living people Women veterinarians Year of birth missing (living people)