New FECAVA board elected after recent EuroCongress

13 October 2017

A new board was elected by the council of the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (FECAVA), with UK’s Wolfgang Dohne being elected as President for the next two years.

The meeting, held in conjunction with the congresses of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) and the Danish Small Animal Veterinary Association (DSAVA), also saw guest speakers and FECAVA members commune to discuss a range of developments in the animal world.

Dohne will replace Poland’s Jerzy Gawor, who will now become Senior Vice President, while Danny Holmes, from Ireland, will also join the board as a result of elections that took place during the FECAVA Council meeting at the 23rd EuroCongress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Past President Monique Megens, from the Netherlands, will leave the board.

Elizabeth Ormerod, from the International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO), urged veterinarians to provide input to ensure the welfare of animals in all animal-assisted interventions. She cited examples of obvious lack of standards, such as close contact between elderly or immunocompromised people and dogs fed on raw meat and bones, wolf hybrids or pets without rabies vaccination and the visit of boa constrictors and tarantulas to residents of nursing homes. She also stated that there are now children’s parties organising sleepovers with sloths, with the guest speaker keen to encourage the key involvement of veterinarians in these types of situations.

Outgoing board member, Monique Megens reported on an expert panel discussion on brachycephalic dogs and the vet’s role, stating that veterinarians should speak out and voice their concern about the health and welfare issue of these dogs. The panel meeting was a huge success, with over 200 people in attendance all partaking in lively discussions. As a result, the adoption of 12 practical recommendations have been made for vets in practice and the profession on a whole to use, which will help tackle the issue.

Megens will also take this into account at European level with a position paper on healthy breeding, which is being drafted on behalf of the joint animal welfare working group of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) and the Union of European Veterinary Practitioners (UEVP).

Serbia’s Nenad Milojkovic, chair of the FECAVA working group on canine vector borne diseases, presented an outline of the modules and factsheets on Leishmania, Dirofilariosis, Borreliosis and Babesiosis, that will be released in the coming months.

Other topics discussed at FECAVA Council included the presentation of a new media concept, the introduction of a student travel scholarship, a 10-point ethical charter and an update of the hygiene posters. Andrew Robinson and Thierry Chambon, of the FVE and UEVP respectively, also provided updates of their particular organisations.

The inaugural Didier Carlotti Award- an accolade that recognises outstanding service in the fields of inter-professional communication and/or continuing education for companion animal veterinarians in Europe- was awarded to Eric Guagère of France, while the FECAVA Best Paper awards went to Shailen Jasani and Viktor Szatmári, of the UK and the Netherlands respectively.

The next EuroCongress will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, over three days from June 14th 2018.