The leader of Britain’s vets has called on politicians and policymakers to recognise the contribution of the profession in achieving Scotland’s £2 billion agri-food output.

Addressing 100 guests at a dinner in the Scottish Parliament, Gudrun Ravetz (pictured above), president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), said a strong vet workforce was vital to maintaining high welfare and food safety standards.

“Not a penny of Scotland’s £2bn agri-food outputs could be realised without vets; veterinary teams support half of all Scotland’s households, which own pets; and vets are an integral part of the international scientific community  which is being put to good use in Scotland’s world-leading veterinary schools and research institutes,” she said.

Mrs Ravetz pointed out that around 50 per cent of vets registering to practise in the UK come from the rest of the EU and reiterated the BVA’s demand in forthcoming Brexit negotiations that Government guarantees working rights for non-British EU vets and vet nurses currently working and studying in the UK at the existing level, and with no time limit.

She added that last year’s Avian Influenza outbreak, which hit a farm near Dunfermline, and others throughout Great Britain, reinforced the need for a robust surveillance system, underpinned by vets’ frontline presence, to protect the health of livestock.