The 10th Official Vet Conference will take place from 17 to 19 September 2024, bringing together Official Vets (OVs), veterinarians, students and more for its decennial event. Over the years, this highly popular event has provided the best opportunity for OVs to stay up to date with recent news and developments affecting their role.
Since the first OV Conference took place in 2015, the profession has navigated a number of significant events, most notably Brexit and the resulting changes to EU exports, the largest avian influenza outbreak on record and the increased threats of African swine fever and bluetongue arriving in the UK, to name just a few. The conference has covered all of these, bringing in experts to provide the latest findings and advice to OVs in attendance.
In 2020, COVID-19 significantly impacted the conference, forcing it to adapt and go “virtual” for the first time. This move proved to be a popular one, and it has remained online ever since, with delegates and speakers alike enjoying the freedom of attending from their own home or practice.
It’s not just OVs who will find something of interest […] the range of topics on offer provides helpful background information on issues with wide-ranging effects across the veterinary profession
Although the event is tailored towards the continuing professional development (CPD) needs of Official Vets, it’s not just OVs who will find something of interest in the programme; the range of topics on offer provides helpful background information on diseases and issues with wide-ranging effects across the veterinary profession. And who could say no to 18 hours of CPD for just £198 (including VAT)?!
Opening address and keynote speaker
This year, we welcome back Christine Middlemiss, chief veterinary officer for the UK, who will once again provide the opening address on the first day of the conference. Immediately following this, our conference chair will introduce delegates to the 2024 keynote speaker, Gethin Jones. Gethin is the founder and director of Unlocking Potential Ltd, a company aiming to create high-performing individuals and teams within local authorities. His talk will help delegates become comfortable being uncomfortable and free themselves from “the prison of the mind”.
The conference programme
Day one – infectious diseases
After Gethin’s keynote talk on day one come updates on several interesting diseases, beginning with bluetongue.
Sascha van Helvoort and Caroline Wilson will discuss the clinical signs of bluetongue in ruminants, the latest situation in Europe and GB, and the control measures that the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have in place. Peter Mertens will follow this with a presentation on the role of the Culicoides midge in the transmission of the bluetongue virus.
Sascha van Helvoort and Caroline Wilson will discuss the clinical signs of bluetongue in ruminants, the latest situation in Europe and GB, and the control measures that APHA have in place
In the afternoon, Rudolf Reichel (APHA’s Small Ruminant Expert Group lead) will give an overview of various aspects of Schmallenberg disease and report on findings from the recent outbreak in England and Wales. Henrietta Kodilinye-Sims will then deliver some practical advice on triaging pet poultry when avian influenza could be a differential diagnosis. To round off the day, Sarah Tomlinson will present a talk titled: “Holistic approach to TB control – it’s more than just testing”.
Day two – bovine tuberculosis, policy updates and animal welfare
This leads us nicely into day two, which will start with the usual bovine tuberculosis (bTB) policy updates from England, Scotland and Wales, followed by an opportunity for Q&A.
After this extended session, Sophia Hepple of APHA will consider a vet’s “responsibility” for animal welfare and Charles Mason (Humane Slaughter Association) will speak about when practitioners must make difficult choices in an animal’s best interest.
The last two talks of the day both promise to be fascinating: Sarah Krumrie explores the effect of human nature on the concept of One Health before Carmen Marco, a veterinary adviser in the Veterinary Exotic Notifiable Disease Unit (VENDU), asks, “What is waiting for us in the future?”
Day three – “Trojan dogs”, rabies and AHCs
Day three kicks off with Paula Boyden, veterinary director of the Dogs Trust, speaking about “Trojan dogs”; in other words, the risks associated with importing pets. This talk will be followed by a session run by two expert companion animal OVs, who will take delegates “back to basics” of animal health certificates (AHCs) and share the best ways to avoid some common pitfalls. For advice on sending pets a little further afield than Europe, delegates need only wait until the next session, when Mihai Miron’s presentation will offer top tips on exports to Australia.
After lunch, Inga McDermott will provide an insight into Mission Rabies’ efforts to control rabies in Southern Malawi. After Mission Rabies founder Luke Gamble’s hugely popular keynote speech in 2022, this is sure to be a much-anticipated update.
In the penultimate session, export OV Silvia Small will speak about her experiences exporting animal products and live animals, before moving on to her transition into import work. She will share real-life examples of issues encountered, lessons learned and adaptations required to move into import controls.
As in 2023, the conference will finish with a panel discussion, but this time, it will feature speakers from earlier in the day returning to answer any further questions delegates may have. As always, this will be expertly moderated by Andrew Carrington, who we are delighted to confirm will return once more as the conference chair for 2024.
Lunchtime wellness sessions
After a positive reception last year, bite-sized lunchtime wellness sessions will be back in 2024, giving delegates the opportunity to exercise their minds and bodies between sessions. These will be run by Olivia Ogińska, who offers emotional intelligence coaching for veterinary leaders and professionals as part of Human-Savvy, and Chloé Hannigan, founder and director of VetYogi, a provider of yoga and meditation services by veterinary professionals for veterinary professionals.
After a positive reception last year, bite-sized lunchtime wellness sessions will be back in 2024, giving delegates the opportunity to exercise their minds and bodies between sessions
There’s more?! Bonus talks
This year, the OV Conference is offering delegates two short bonus sessions, which will be available to watch as recordings once the conference begins in September.
The first of these will cover information relevant to the ante-mortem inspection of domestic ungulates in the case of emergency slaughter outside of the slaughterhouse. The second will give an overview of the recently announced livestock exports ban, which came into effect in July 2024 and means that it is now an offence to export livestock for fattening or slaughter – a significant change to the animal welfare policy.
The OV Conference platform
Tickets can be bought directly from the conference platform, and the conference space is immediately accessible after purchase, allowing delegates to explore and view the latest information as it is updated in the lead-up to the event.
As usual, presentations will be streamed via Zoom and delegates can ask the speakers questions during live sessions using the Q&A panel. Delegates can also make use of the discussion forum to network with colleagues and speakers.
Support will be available in the case of any technical issues, and all presentations will be recorded. Recordings will be available to watch within two working days of the live sessions and will remain on the conference platform for at least six months after the event.
Recordings will be available to watch within two working days of the live sessions and will remain on the conference platform for at least six months
There is up to 18 hours of CPD available from the conference. At the end of each day, delegates can complete a short feedback questionnaire to access and download their digital CPD certificate.
Sponsors and supporters
The OV Conference Online 2024 is grateful for the support of the following organisations:
VetIT
VetIT supports veterinary practices using its industry-leading practice management software and excellent customer service. The cloud-based system is tailored to each practice’s discipline, whether they care for small animals, equines, farm animals or a mix, streamlining daily operations and enabling great client service. As part of the NVS Group, VetIT can offer an integrated service for clients.
Improve Veterinary Practice
Veterinary Practice (IVP) is an online knowledge and information hub for veterinary professionals across all specialties. It provides reliable, useful and interesting content written by expert authors, covering small animal, large animal, exotics, equine and practice management sectors of the veterinary surgeon and nursing professions. Alongside their membership, which provides nugget-sized, CPD-accredited training for the whole veterinary team, IVP has launched Expert Help Forums, a coaching and learning tool for the veterinary community.
ISVPS
The International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS) was set up by a group of like-minded vets with the principal objective of providing attainable, balanced qualifications for practitioners working full-time. It’s General Practitioner and Nurses Certificates were designed to meet the needs of busy practitioners and nurses wanting to gain a postgraduate qualification without having to take excessive time out of their busy working lives.
