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324 Australian Veterinary Journal Volume 83, No 6, June 2005

Veterinary organizations and clinics from Ghana, India,China, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Egypt and Finland celebrated WorldVeterinary Day on April 30, 2005.

This is the fifth year running the World Veterinary Association(WVA) has promoted the day which provides an opportunity formembers of the profession to collectively promote the diverse facetsof their work and highlight veterinarians’ contributions to theirrespective communities.

The WVA identified food safety,emerging and re-emerging animaldiseases and zoonoses, animal welfareand sustainable environments as the keyissues confronting today’s veterinaryprofession, and suggested its 80member countries celebrate WorldVeterinary Day under the theme“Veterinarians Meeting the Needs ofSociety”.

“We hope this day will not onlyprovide the general public with a betterunderstanding of our multifacetedactivities and responsibilities, but willalso promote intra-professionalfellowship and friendship on local,national, regional or internationallevel,” said Dr Herbert Schneider,President of the WVA.

For the first time ever the IraqiVeterinary Medical Associationcelebrated the event by holding aneducational and social meeting designedto promote public health and soundanimal management.

The Ghana Veterinary MedicalAssociation (GVMA) celebrated asuccessful veterinary week to coincidewith World Veterinary Day.

Activities included workshops onfood safety and security at theagricultural resource centre in Accra.Over 150 participants including localcaterers, butchers and food vendorsattended the event to hear presentationsfrom the country’s Veterinary Servicesand representatives from the Food andDrugs Board. Veterinarians alsoconducted an outreach programme inwhich pets were vaccinated free ofcharge against rabies. Animals were alsode-wormed free of charge in villagesnorth east of Accra. The celebrationsculminated in a dinner dance to celebrate World Veterinary Day.

Blessed with 30,000 veterinarians serving in various veterinarypublic health and animal welfare roles and 11 veterinary colleges,Egypt joined the celebrations via the Egyptian Veterinary MedicalAssociation (EVMA).

Three hundred veterinarians gathered on April 28 for a seminarheld in conjunction with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine ofCairo University, adopting the theme “food of occasions and theirrelation to consumer’s health”.

President of the EVMA, Professor Farouk EL-Dessoukycongratulated the veterinarians on their role in upholding publichealth, food safety and security and preventing trans boundary

diseases and zoonoses.During the seminar, veterinarians

discussed monitoring the hazardsassociated with producing andconsuming salted smoked fish andother meat products. They alsoexamined sound manufacturing andsanitary processes and environmentalpollution particularly in Sham EL-Feast.

Since 2001 the Finnish VeterinaryAuthority has selected either the ‘Vet ofthe Year’ or the ‘Veterinary Deed of theYear’ as part of celebrating WorldVeterinary Day. In 2005 Dr AimoValimaki, municipal veterinarypractitioner was nominated for theaward. Finland’s 400 Municipalveterinarians (out of 1700 veterinariansnationwide), deal not only withtraditional veterinary tasks butgovernment duties such as foodhygiene and animal welfare.

India’s Madras Veterinary Collegealso recognised the global eventholding a series of seminars, lecturesand student essay writing competitionsfrom April 28-30, 2005.

About 54 private and governmentveterinarians attended the seminarsand Dr N Balaraman, Vice ChancellorTanuvas inaugurated a mass anti rabiesvaccination campaign with over 400dogs successfully vaccinated during theday.

During his Presidential address atthe World Veterinary Day celebrationsDr Balaraman drew attention to theimportance of vaccinating his state’s1.8 million dogs and said vets played amajor role in the well being of bothman and animal.

“Veterinarians must continue to beinvolved in creating disease free zones

especially in the wake of emerging diseases such as blue tongue,” hesaid.

For the first time the WVA and Office International desEpizooties offered an award in recognition of the most successfulWorld Veterinary Day activity.

World Veterinary Day Celebrations By Mark Thornley

Veterinarians make a huge contribution to animal andhuman health

Photo courtesy - Greenhills Veterinary Practice