Chief Veterinary Officer awarded Honorary Fellowship
It’s been a couple of weeks since I opened a letter from the Moredun Foundation, completely unaware of how significant that letter would be to me. Reading the words “delighted to award an Honorary Fellowship” and my name was something I did not expect!
To be awarded the Fellowship in recognition of my contribution to livestock health and welfare is a real honour and a moment I will look back on and cherish. Being awarded the fellowship I couldn’t help but reflect on the research the Moredun Foundation has carried out and how fortunate I’ve been to work with them, especially as the foundation will be celebrating its 100th birthday in 2020.
The work and research the foundation carries out is invaluable to us in Animal Health and Welfare Division, helping support the policy Scottish Government puts in place. The foundation is recognised as one of the finest livestock health and welfare research facilities in the world. One of the reasons behind its success is that farmers are driving much of the research the foundation carries out.
One piece of work I am most proud of is the work towards eradicating Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) disease. So far the programme has led to around 90% of Scottish breeding holdings having a negative BVD status. This has been a fantastic effort assisted by the excellent science advice provided by, amongst others, the Moredun Foundation.
That, for me, is what makes this award so special - working with so many great people.
As part of being a fellow I’m lucky enough to get a lifelong membership of the foundation and receive the newsletters the foundation produces. The newsletters are a great way of keeping up-to-date with the research they are doing and I’d encourage people to have a look at the website.
The foundation often does roadshows for farmers and others with an interest in livestock agriculture. Check their website and go along to one – you can have a chat about the work they are doing and it’s a great networking event.
I’m extremely proud of this award and I’m looking forward to celebrating their 100th birthday next year as a Fellow.
Published on: 3 October, 2019