CENTRAL VETERINARY SOCIETY Established 1870 A Division of the British Veterinary Association

Minutes of a meeting of Council held on Monday 5th July 2004 at BVA Headquarters, 7 Mansfield Street, London, W1M 0AT.

Present:  the President Mr. B. Hoskin, Prof. J. Bleby, Mr. R. Ewbank, Dr. M. Kerr, Dr. A. Porter.

Apologies for Absence:  Mr. H. Hellig, Mr. C. R. Herbert, Mr. K. Meldrum, Prof. A. R. Michell, Mr. A. Muckle, Mr. M. Nelson, Mr. J. Oliver, Mr. H. Robinson.

Minutes of the previous meeting on 11th May had been circulated and were approved, subject to the correction of its having been Prof. Bleby who proposed Dr. and Mrs. Mason for Fellowship, and noting that David Wishart is in fact Dr. Wishart.

Matters arising from the minutes not covered elsewhere:  So far, no applications have been received from Dr. or Mrs. Mason.  Dr. Porter reported that Dr. Andrew Edney had expressed an interest in joining.  (It was resolved to recognise Dr. Porter's honorary degree by referring to him as 'Dr. Porter'.)

Correspondence:  The usual email list of consultation documents and news reports, which had been circulated.  Policy document with respect to Divisional insurance.  A letter to Dr. Porter from the RCVS Register replying to his questions regarding the proposed new VSA.

President's report:  The President thanked those present for attending and speculated whether such meetings were worthwhile if good attendance couldn't be achieved.  There was some discussion regarding the practicability of the BVA Council papers to be disseminated and discussed via email.

Secretary's report:  Dr. Kerr reported that an old minutes book covering July 1974 to May 1983, details of the CVS prizes and awards and printed certificates relating to the Centenary Prize had been discovered in Mr. Tribe's old filing cabinet during the Vetlab move.  It was resolved to make use of this material.

Treasurer's report:  Mr. Herbert had reported to the Hon. Secretary that he had not yet received the treasurer's paperwork from Mr. Tribe but he expected to do so shortly.

BVA Representative's report:  Prof. Bleby reported that there had not been a meeting of BVA Council since our last meeting.

AWF Representative's report:  Mr. Ewbank reported on the Divisional Representatives' Open Day, which had been held on 11th May.  The meeting was well attended, with many contributions from the floor.  There was much discussion on the future direction of the AWF, bearing in mind the impossibility of promoting the BVA due to the prohibition on a charity involving itself in political matters.  This was resulting in lost opportunities.  It was suggested that the BVA ought to resurrect the former Animal Welfare Committee, in a somewhat different form, to address this problem, and Prof. Bleby agreed to raise the matter if necessary and appropriate.

Mr. Ewbank appeared still not to be receiving the AWF papers from BVA, and not to be on the AWF email list.  Concern was expressed that there was nothing in the new BVA Articles of Association about welfare.  This omission needs to be addressed.

Membership:  Membership numbers remained the same, at 94, and an application form would be sent to Dr. Porter to give to Dr. Edney.  It was pointed out that as we had amended the constitution at the AGM, the current stock of printed copies was out of date.  It was decided not to reprint these for the present, but to utilise printouts of the current version now posted on the web site as necessary.  Dr. Kerr was still receiving no notification of new BVA members within our territorial division.

BVA Council agenda, 7th July:  The items discussed included the following:

• The delay in finalising the arrangements for horse passports.
• The increase in BVA membership by 25 in the past year, officers to be congratulated.
• The awarding of an OBE to Mr. Andrew Hayward, the DVM for Cumbria during the FMD outbreak - particularly welcome, as Mr. Hayward is suffering from multiple sclerosis.
• Pharmchoice, and the definition of "animals under our care".
• The poor sensitivity of the TB test on an individual as opposed to a herd basis, and the potential of β-interferon to overcome the imperfections of tuberculin.
• The extreme heat complained of by the Publications Department, in the attic of 9 Mansfield Street.  The lease expires in 2007, and the staff would prefer to squeeze into no.7.
• The proposed Pet Week, which the BSAVA isn't too keen on.
• LVI charges.
• "Young BVA", Mr. Greet's brainchild, he is to be congratulated.
• The concept that having a winner and a loser in a presidential election discourages people from coming forward. However, the alternative seems to be to return to "parachuting-in".  Prof. Bleby will raise this point.
• The new-style Congress, and the necessity for people to know the programme well in advance if this is going to work.
• Nottingham University, and the fact that people are willing to enter large animal practice, but subsequently drift away for well-known reasons.  How can Nottingham change this?
• Government support for farming, given that the demand for cheap food results in cheap supplies from abroad. Farmers can't subsidise the countryside, and the government must recognise this.
• The EFRACOM document is just a list of problems that are well-recognised, but solutions are required.
• Has the BVA ever supported the 4-tier medicines system, as they claim.  Is it to be changed?
• Deregulation in New Zealand has been tried before with other professions (dentists), and public pressure forced a reversal.  The same may well happen in respect of animal medicines.
• Draft BVA policy on distribution of veterinary medicines had a number of inaccuracies and deficiencies, and requires clarification.  Prof. Bleby is to move the remit back.
• General Veterinary Council is being discussed as if the contents of the new Act are known, which they are not.  The provenance of the document was questioned, and the necessity for much more research and much more detail if this is to be seriously considered.  Again the remit back was favoured.
• The value of the Hayward Trust land with planning permission.
• The 2003 AVF accounts having been passed by the trustees, will they be available to inspect?  What do the "other known costs" of £64,000 consist of?

Any other business:  It was pointed out that there are five vacancies on the VPG, and nominations were invited for independent members.  It was proposed that the CVS nominate Mr. Oliver.

It was generally agreed that this meeting had been very valuable but that more input is required for the concept to be a success in the longer term.  It was resolved that we should give the meetings a fair trial for the coming year, and investigate whether a different time might make it easier for members to attend.

Date, time and place of next meeting:  Tuesday 28th September at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3LS.

Next month's Council minutes | Minutes index page | Home page