The AVA celebrates vets on World Veterinary Day

Watch our World Veterinary Day video below, featuring AVA Members:
Dr Catherine Harper, Dr Mike Woodham, Dr David Lee, Dr Jacqui Bell, Bridget Webster, Dr Geoffrey Golovsky, Dr Holly Lewis, Lily Hua and Dr Mitchell Dodds.

Saturday 30 April 2022 was World Veterinary Day – a celebration of veterinarians and their contributions to animals, people and the environment. This year, the Australian Veterinary Association highlighted the work and resilience of veterinarians all around our country, despite two extremely challenging years. 

The theme for this year’s World Veterinary Day was ‘Strengthening Veterinary Resilience’. In speaking with AVA members, it’s clear that the past two years have placed an unprecedented strain on the industry. According to research conducted by Animal Medicines Australia, the pandemic saw pet ownership numbers increase by nearly 20%. The veterinary profession also had to quickly pivot to provide contactless consultations and telehealth services. On top of the many challenges associated with the pandemic, the profession also faced bushfires and floods.

Throughout all this, veterinarians continued to keep the animals of this country safe.

Vets often work through grueling conditions, from attending overnight emergencies to supporting clients following the loss of their pets. In addition to vets working in clinical roles, there are innumerable others making contributions in other fields, including scientific research, biosecurity, food security, One Health, human-animal interactions, animal welfare, infectious disease control, policy, and so much more. It’s obvious that veterinarians are vital members of communities worldwide.

In the drive to improve the health and wellbeing of animals and the community, veterinarians have not paid enough attention to their own health and wellbeing. As with other caring professions, the veterinary profession needs to thrive to best serve the community. The AVA is working hard to develop the tools, and lobby for, the support the veterinary profession needs.

As well as some soon-to-be-announced AVA initiatives, the AVA is calling on both major parties to commit to investing $3m over five years to improve the lives and wellbeing of Australian veterinarians.  

Members interested in helping to shape the future of our profession via contribution to the AVA’s advocacy efforts can visit the Get Involved page for more information.