Pictures by Bob Atkins, Sarah Farnsworth, Steve Bardens, Max
Mumby/Indigo,
Eventer Jonty
Evans contested
his fi rst horse
trials since his
injury, riding at
Smiths Lawn on 5
August. He ”slid off” cross-country
as he tried to fi nd a lost stirrup but
thinks he will enter another event.Conformation
judge and
former Sport
Horse Breeding
chairman David
Walters’ arm was
broken by a kick at a show. It could
take months to heal. “I’m praying I
won’t need surgery,” he said.
Government agrees
to protect vets’ status
A HOME OFFICE decision to add
vets to the shortage occupation
list will help ensure Britain
continues to have the best equine
practitioners, it is believed.
In a statement to the House
of Commons, then-home
secretary Sajid Javid said he was
accepting the migration advisory
committee’s recommendations on
who to add to the list.
Inclusion on the list, from
which vets were removed in 2011,
means foreign practitioners will
be prioritised for visas, and enjoy
“lowered immigration barriers”.
H&H reported that the
committee recommended the
move, after a submission from
the Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons (RCVS) and the British
Veterinary Association, and vets
felt it important to ensure post-
Brexit continuity (news, 6 June).
British Equine Veterinary
Association CEO David
Mountford told H&H: “We’re very
pleased the government is making
it easier for equine practices to
employ the most talented vets
from around the world.
“The UK offers some of the
best equine veterinary facilities
and research opportunitiesThe move will help ensure the UK
continues to have expert practitioners
anywhere, and this decision will
ensure that we will also continue
to have the best equine vets.”
RCVS president Niall Connell
said the inclusion was “vital”, as
about half the vets registering
with the RCVS are EU nationals.
“We would not want to see
this vital supply of veterinary
talent immediately dry up should
freedom of movement end when
the UK leaves the EU,” he added.
“We thank Mr Javid,
congratulate his successor Priti
Patel on her appointment and
look forward to the decision being
implemented.
“The new prime minister
pledged to do more to promote
animal welfare, and having vets on
the list will help in our mission to
uphold animal health and welfare,
and ensure vital veterinary work
can continue to be done, whatever
happens with the relationship
between the UK and EU.”
Mr Javid said: “The
government is happy to accept the
recommendations; amendments
will be made in the autumn
immigration rules changes.”ByELEANORJONES
Veterinary bodies had been calling for vets to be included on the list