The British Veterinary Association (BVA) Annual Northern Ireland Dinner was held in the Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings, on the evening of Thursday 24th November.   This annual event once again provided an excellent opportunity for vets and others in the animal health sector to engage and discuss issues of animal welfare, animal health and food safety of particular importance to Northern Ireland with other key representatives, political leaders and opinion formers. Mr Patsy McGlone MLA acted as the Stormont host and NI Branch President, Seamus O’Kane welcomed members and guests before introducing the two speakers. 

Gudrun Ravetz, the BVA President spoke first , covering a wide range of topics including Brexit, animal health, animal welfare, R&D and the veterinary “family”. Her speech can be found here: BVA President speech.  

The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Michelle McIlveen MLA responded to the BVA President’s speech.  An overview of her speech can be found  here: Michelle McIlveen MLA speech