World Veterinary Association holds elections

By Dr. Jim Edwards, a former WVA president
Published on
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The World Veterinary Association held the meetings of its Executive Committee and Council and the Presidents Assembly during the 28th World Veterinary Congress, July 16-20 in conjunction with the 142nd AVMA Annual Convention in Minneapolis.
 
The most influential meeting was the Presidents Assembly, which gave member associations the opportunity to guide WVA direction for the next three years, until the next Congress, which will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in July 2008. 

 

Of greatest interest were the elections, which saw former AVMA president, Dr. Leon H. Russell, chosen to lead the WVA over the next three years (see JAVMA, Sept. 1, 2005). President Russell is supported by two new vice presidents, newcomer Dr. Johnson Chiang from Taiwan and Dr. Mohamed Fauozi Kechrid of Tunisia, who returned after losing the presidential race in 2002. Dr. James E. Nave will continue to represent the United States on the WVA Council.

Outgoing president, Dr. Herbert Schneider of Namibia, stressed the success over the past three years in further raising the profile of the WVA. Cooperation with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has been especially successful, he said. The 50-year-old agreement with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has been under modernization. The WVA has also been cooperating with the International Federation for Animal Health.

President Schneider encouraged members to improve communication through the WVA Web site and World Veterinary Day. He said that in 2006, the OIE and the WVA will honor the chief veterinary officer from the country that has been determined to have best lifted the objective of World Veterinary Day. The CVO will then deliver the award to that national association. The theme of the 2008 congress, "Come Celebrate Our Diversity," will be the same as for 2006 World Veterinary Day.

The WVA adopted a policy on long-distance transportation in which it recognizes that around the world, animals are transported for many reasons, that practices vary widely among regions, and the WVA supports transport where animal welfare is maintained above defined minimal standards that are based on sound science.

The WVA is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2013 and plans to hold a World Veterinary Congress that year. The World Association for the History of Veterinary Medicine has been asked to help publish the "History of the WVA" to mark the occasion.