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BCVA Congress 2009, Southport

 
The 2009 Congress was notable for its first royal visitor. President John Blackwell met HRH The Princess Royal to launch BCVA involvement with the Large Animal Rescue Initiative. This Initiative is to improve the outcomes of large animal rescues, with the use of new techniques to improve animal welfare and human safety by training and increased collaboration between the rescue services and vets. The Princess Royal addressed the audience on this subject before meeting with many members of the vet profession.
 
Reflecting the diverse range of skills needed by cattle vets, delegates at the Southport venue heard keynote speaker from the US, Professor Paul Gibbs from the University of Florida, talking on global perspectives on climate change and the changing ecology of disease. This was followed by Joep Driessen’s lively presentation on calf health and the impact of husbandry and disease.
 
Congress delegates had the opportunity to hear a number of speakers review current knowledge, listen to new research, attend small group workshops on farm, and to meet with colleagues. While there were too many highlights to mention them all, particular areas covered included
·        a review of the aetiology and treatment of left displaced abomasum
·        update on current knowledge with regard to embryonic death
·        the annual state of the Nation address from the CVO
·        BCVA clinical research grant project on sorting and acidosis
·        a stream for young graduates to discuss clinical presentations
 
There was of course an extensive social programme, including the Presidents Dinner. This was John Blackwell’s last official engagement after a busy and successful year in office. There were speeches from both John Blackwell and his counterparts in Australia and the USA, but the event was notable for the award of Hon Life Membership of BCVA to Prof Joe Brownlie.
 
The event saw the launch of a number of new services and products to members and these included the launch of
  • a long acting antibiotic, Naxcel, by Pfizer
  • an infectious disease control service Herdsure by the VLA
  • PCR testing for mastitis identification by biobest laboratories
  • updates on dairy herd management software from Interherd and TotalVet.
 
BCVA is grateful for the support and sponsorship from the industry that contributes to the success of the event, and the trade stands were well supported.
 
BCVA Council, and the new President Keith Cutler, are already planning for next years event from 14-16 October 2010. You can give BCVA your feedback on the Forum in the BCVA Education section.