(Updated 19/7/01)

Winchester to host BVA Congress 2001

THE BVA Congress will take place at the Winchester Guildhall from Thursday 4 October to Sunday 7 October.
The first day offers delegates the choice between the two day-long seminars. The Food Production Seminar, organised in conjunction with the Veterinary Public Health Association, will feature presentations and discussion on the production and safety of food of animal origin from stable to table while the Dog Seminar, organised in conjunction with the Society of Greyhound Veterinarians, will address the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of clinical canine conditions.

In the evening, the opening ceremony, featuring addresses by Baroness Mallalieu, chairman of the Countryside Alliance and BVA President Mr David Tyson will be followed by a welcome reception in the Great Hall at Winchester Castle, home of the legendary King Arthur’s round table.

The scientific programme for Friday 5 October features clinical continuing professional development (CPD) sessions covering farm animal topics including herd biosecurity, organic farming, cattle fertility and diseases of pheasants. Subjects identified for the ‘contentious issues’ debates veterinary surveillance (featuring contributions from the Chief Veterinary Officer and his opposite numbers in the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the Food Standards Agency and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency), the opening of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, veterinary pharmaceuticals and the ‘carving up of veterinary practice’, on which the debate will be led by the Chief Executive Officer of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Dr Bruce Little.

Lecture

Friday also features the prestigious Wooldridge Memorial Lecture, to be given this year by Lord Williamson, Director General of the European Commission from 1987-1997, on the topical subject of the problems and solutions for animal production and food safety in the EU. The evening entertainment features the President’s Reception – an informal dinner dance at the Moat House Hotel.

Companion animals dominate the CPD programme on Saturday 6 October, with topics such as blood pressure monitoring in cats, canine ear surgery, the management of equine wounds, diagnosis of diseases of the travelling pet and a Veterinary Defence society session ‘It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet’.

Contentious issues debates will feature the food chain (asking what is the weakest link?), organic farming, foot and mouth disease, TSEs and biological waste disposal. In the evening, delegates can choose between the formal congress banquet, including a private tour, at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu House, one of the finest collections of vehicles and memorabilia in the world or the ‘Alternative Banquet’ at Pappagallo’s.

On Sunday 7 October, the last Council meeting of the Association year will be held followed by the AGM including the investiture of the new BVA President.

With its combination of politics and CPC the BVA Congress provides a unique opportunity for veterinary surgeons to extend their knowledge and make their views known. The debates at BVA Congress help to shape BVA policy and with Government and European decisions continuing to have an impact on the profession at every level, Congress provides an important opportunity for the profession to influence developments that affect it directly.