BSAVA Companion - 2025, 6, June

A PDF of the full June Companion

BSAVA Alba returns to Glasgow!; Raising funds for PetSavers!

A calendar of forthcoming online and in-person events.

 Becky Sedman is a member of the Vet Sustain Greener Veterinary Practice working group and a small animal vet, and she feels passionate enough to write an ode to the wonderful vets who have inspired her….

  Dr Tim Williams and final year University of Cambridge veterinary student Tarn Chamberlain James received funding for a student research project exploring the utility of serum procalcitonin concentrations in diagnosing systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) aetiology in domestic cats. The project was carried out in Tarn’s final year at the University of Cambridge Veterinary School (2023–24), and she describes her work here.

With 60% of pathogens that cause human diseases originating from domestic animals or wildlife and 75% of emerging infectious human disease having an animal origin, it is difficult to overstate the importance of the One Health concept to support the development of collaborative, multi-disciplinary approaches to address global health challenges. As part of the ‘One Health: One Team’ stream at BSAVA Congress, attendees were encouraged to find out more about the essential role veterinary professionals in small animal practice play in disease surveillance and reporting.

The BSAVA, together with the Pet Charity, the British Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS) and the Companion Animal Sector Council (CASC) have developed a website to provide prospective pet owners with essential knowledge about the care of a range of species and also to support owners make more informed buying choices. The website covers many popular species (aside from dogs and cats) encountered by veterinary professionals in small animal practice on a daily basis, who may find it a useful resource for their clients.

  Vetlife has launched a valuable new resource to help understand and tackle burnout, moral injury and compassion fatigue. Small animal vet Dr Tanya Crawley is a member of the Vetlife resource working group responsible for collating this new resource and presented at the recent Veterinary Management Group Congress held in April to discuss these challenging issues.

Each year the BSAVA invites clinical abstract submissions of research work carried out in practice, industry and academia for presentation at BSAVA Congress as either a poster or an oral presentation based on high quality research. These presentations allow researchers to showcase their research to a wide audience where delegates can benefit from seeing and discussing the latest advances in veterinary medicine.

BSAVA Policy works to ensure that the voice of the small animal veterinary profession is heard and that we influence outcomes of benefit to the profession and animal health and welfare. We engage actively with a diverse range of stakeholders on matters of relevance to professionals working in small animal practice. Summarized in this article are recent BSAVA Policy activities.

  This month we are delighted to welcome David Godfrey as our new BSAVA President! Born and brought up in Essex with two younger siblings, David graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1988 having been inspired by a close family friend who was his role model vet and a great aunt of his who took a biology degree back in the 1930s. Companion spoke to David to find out more about his career, past experiences and what he has planned for his presidential year ahead.

Article abstracts from the latest issue of JSAP.

  This year at BSAVA Congress and EXPO six veterinary nurses presented case reports covering a diverse range of topics. These sessions highlighted the vital role veterinary nurses play in patient care, innovation and the future of veterinary medicine. This month, Nicola Read, Head Oncology Nurse at the Royal Veterinary College, details the case she presented at Congress.