A commercial poultry and gamebird vet has been named the British Veterinary Association (BVA)’s Young Vet of the Year 2023.
Dr Henry Lamb secures the title in recognition of his outstanding work tacklingavian influenza, as the outbreak of this devastating disease spread across the country this summer.
Henry Lamb, from Norfolk, was presented with the prestigious award at this year’s BVA Gala Dinner, which was held on 16 November 2023 at the London Marriot Hotel in Canary Wharf as part of London Vet Show.
A total of 140 nominations were received for this year’s award, which is sponsored by Zoetis and celebrates vets in the first stages of their professional career making a significant impact.
The judging panel comprised BVA president Anna Judson, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) president Sue Paterson, national veterinary lead ruminant and equine at Zoetis UK Ally Ward and last year’s award winner vet Hannah Hunt.
In addition to his work tackling bird flu, the judges also acknowledged Henry Lamb’s role in encouraging other young vets to join the poultry industry.
After graduating from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in 2018, he began working at Crowshall Veterinary Services, Norfolk, providing dedicated consultancy and Official Veterinarian (OV) provision to the poultry/gamebird industry across Great Britain and internationally.
This has seen him working through the recent bird flu outbreaks, holding multiple OV panels, and preparing for export changes associated with Brexit.
Henry Lamb is also a mental health first aider and trustee of regional rural mental health charity You Are Not Alone (YANA), deputy rotation lead for the new RVC poultry rotation, which takes its first students in 2024, and is also co-lead of his practice green group through which he has steered his practice to the top Green accreditation for sustainability with Investors in the Environment.
In his role as external lecturer for the RVC, Henry provides opportunities to engage with avian population medicine for new members of the profession.
On being named the winner, Henry said: “To be named BVA Young Vet of the Year is a huge honour and it means all the more having heard about the outstanding work, dedication and skills of the other two finalists.
“I’m delighted that after a challenging few years the poultry sector has been highlighted tonight, as all those involved have worked tirelessly to overcome the largest animal health outbreak the UK has experienced in recent times – I hope that winning this award will encourage more young vets to consider joining us in the poultry sector. It’s extremely rewarding work.”
BVA President Anna Judson said: “Henry Lamb’s dedication and hard work shines through in what is a particularly testing time for the poultry sector.
“His enthusiasm, not only for the work itself, but for encouraging and supporting other young vets and students to consider roles in the poultry sector, is inspirational.
“On behalf of all the judges, I wish Henry huge congratulations – he clearly has a bright future ahead.”
Oya Canbas, UK general manager from Zoetis, said: “It is so inspiring to see so many young vets making such a big impact on important issues and going above and beyond. Congratulations to all and thank you for all you have contributed.”
Henry Lamb was shortlisted alongside vet Rebecca Hampson, who co-founded animal welfare charity Veterinary Education Malawi, and equine vet Camilla Church, who set up her own practice, Perth Equine Vets.
Dr Judson added: “The standard of nominations this year was outstanding. It sounds cliché, but we really did have our work cut out when choosing the finalists.”
Camilla Church is an equine vet who made the incredibly brave step to set up her own practice. She also works to inspire the vets of the future by setting up educational events for school pupils, and works to educate horse owners to help improve their equine knowledge.
Rebecca Hampson was nominated for her work co-founding an incredible animal welfare charity abroad, Veterinary Education Malawi. Working with low-income communities, the charity provides free veterinary services, as well as educational support to the only vet school in the area.
Anna added: “Both of these young vets have worked incredibly hard and have already made such an impact. They are well-deserving finalists, and we know they have fantastic careers ahead of them.”
