The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is the national body for veterinary surgeons in 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 ...

and is a not-for-profit organisation. Its purpose is that of knowledge dissemination, and not professional validation or academic competence. Knowledge dissemination is important in the veterinary profession to prevent a

knowledge divide The knowledge divide is the gap between those who can find, create, manage, process, and disseminate information or knowledge, and those who are impaired in this process. According to a 2005 UNESCO World Report, the rise in the 21st century of a glo ...

History

National Veterinary Association

A preceding organisation started out as the National Veterinary Association in 1882 after the first ever British National Veterinary Congress in July 1881. A vet, George Banham, had suggested the idea of a national veterinary association. George Fleming, the principal vet to the Armed Forces, was the first elected president. The association was open to any vet, no matter which country they were from, on the payment of half a guinea. Other previous veterinary associations still co-existed though. It had an informal organisation and meetings across the country were arranged on an ''ad hoc'' basis. This style of organisation did not suit many vets, who wanted an organisation where they could discuss matters which did not or could not be discussed by the RCVS. In 1909 at a meeting of the Scottish Metropolitan Veterinary Association, Professor Orlando Charnock Bradley of the

Edinburgh Veterinary College The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, commonly referred to as the Dick Vet, is the veterinary school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine the head of which is Moira Whyt ...

, called for a 'one single British veterinary association'. The idea was generally accepted, but the First World War stopped anything from happening.

National Veterinary Medical Association

At a meeting on 31 October 1919 the National Veterinary Medical Association was formed. Orlando Charnock Bradley became this association's first president. The co-existent veterinary associations no longer continued. The NVMA became a coherent regulated organisation and started to achieve things for vets, the country, and not-least the world. It has profoundly helped animal welfare and food production. In 1952, it became the BVA. In 1984, it founded the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation.

Activities

The organisation issues advice and the consensus of professional opinion to members and to the general public about veterinary issues as they arise in current events or trends, such as Avian flu, foot and mouth, and Brexit. The organisation has over 19,000 members.

Structure

The current president is Justine Shotton. The current senior vice president is James Russell and the current junior vice president is Malcolm Morley. The association's headquarters is situated on Mansfield Street, Marylebone, London.

Publications

British Veterinary Association works with contractor Wiley to publish the BVA's journals, the ''

Veterinary Record ''Veterinary Record'', branded as ''Vet Record'', is a semi-monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering the field of veterinary medicine. It is published by Wiley on behalf of the British Veterinary Association and is distributed to its members ...

'' and ''

In Practice ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

''. The latter dates back to 1979 and is published ten times a year. The Veterinary Record has been in publication since 1888 with members able to search within its voluminous archives dating back to 1996. BMJ also publis
Veterinary Record Open
an
Veterinary Record Case Reports
for BVA.

References

External links

British Veterinary Association

BVA weekly journal Vet Record

BVA monthly journal In Practice

BVA online journal Vet Record Open

BVA online journal Vet Record Case Reports

British Veterinary Nursing Association

BVA Animal Welfare Foundation

Association of Veterinary Students

International Veterinary Students Association

Video clips

Vets.TV
{{authority control Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom Trade associations based in the United Kingdom Medical associations based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the City of Westminster Organizations established in 1919 Veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom Veterinary medicine-related professional associations 1919 establishments in the United Kingdom