World Small Animal Veterinary Association

Event: 39th World Small Animal Veterinary Congress, Sept. 16-19, Cape Town, South Africa
Program: The congress attracted almost 3,000 attendees from 77 countries. More than 100 speakers presented lectures. The scientific program featured several simultaneous streams. Keynote sessions included “Mobility restored: New developments in orthopaedics and looking to the future” by Kenneth Johnson, PhD. Dr. Lucille Blumberg presented “A decade of shared experiences and benefits.”
Awards: WSAVA International Award for Scientific Achievement: Dr. Michael Herrtage, Cambridge, United Kingdom, for contributions to small animal internal medicine, especially in endocrinology. Dr. Herrtage is a professor of small animal medicine and dean of the Cambridge Veterinary School. He is a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. Dr. Herrtage is known for his research on hyperadrenocorticism and diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats, and endocrine responses in critical illness. WSAVA Global Meritorious Service Award: Dr. Lawson Cairns, Durban, South Africa, for his work in raising standards of continuing ducation across the African continent. Dr. Cairns has owned a practice in Hillcrest, near Durban, for 40 years. He is a member of the WSAVA Continuing Education Committee and has served as the CE coordinator in Africa for 16 years. WSAVA Global One Health Award: Dr. Lucille Blumberg, Sandringham, South Africa, for exemplary service toward promoting the global one-health concept and for highlighting an aspect of small companion animal medicine relevant to the one-health agenda. Dr. Blumberg is deputy director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the National Health Laboratory Service of South Africa. She also heads the Epidemiology Division and the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme. Dr. Blumberg serves as a medical consultant to the Special Pathogens Unit on rabies and viral hemorrhagic fevers and is an associate professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology at Stellenbosch University. WSAVA Henry Schein Cares Award for International Community Service: Dr. Annelize Roos, Durbanville Hills, South Africa, for outstanding contributions to communities facing adversity. Dr. Roos is the founder and principal of EnviroVet CVC, a satellite community veterinary clinic under the umbrella of the South African Veterinary Association Community Veterinary Clinics, offering veterinary care to animals owned by members of the indigent communities in South Africa. She also owns Joostenberg Animal Clinic in Cape Town, serves as a director for SAVA CVC, and is project leader of the Western Cape Provincial Mass Animal Sterilization Pilot Project. WSAVA President’s Award: Dr. Larry Dee, Hollywood, Florida. Dr. Dee is a partner at Hollywood Animal Hospital and has served as president of the WSAVA and chaired the WSAVA Foundation. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners.
Business: The WSAVA Animal Welfare and Wellness Committee announced several initiatives to promote global animal welfare. There will be a memorandum of understanding with the nonprofit World Animal Protection under which the organizations will work together to develop an annual, measurable welfare action plan. The WSAVA’s Global Outreach scheme, offered for the first time during the Cape Town congress, aims to help share the knowledge and experience of WSAVA veterinarians more widely around the world and offers the opportunity for veterinarians to take up volunteer placements for animal welfare organizations in the region where the world congress is being held. The Animal Welfare and Wellness Committee will offer a grant of up to $5,000 to veterinarians or postgraduate veterinary students who wish to pursue a career in animal welfare for travel to a suitable project to gain experience. The group Friends of Animal Welfare will be established, comprising veterinarians from around the world who will be asked to make an annual pledge to a fund to be used for specific animal welfare–related initiatives. Also unveiled at the congress was a voluntary veterinary oath, translated into 25 languages, with a strong focus on welfare. All WSAVA members were encouraged to sign the oath.
Officials: Drs. Colin Burrows, Gainesville, Florida, president; Walt Ingwersen, Dundas, Ontario, president-elect; Shane Ryan, Singapore, vice president; Jolle Kirpensteijn, Lawrence, Kansas, immediate past president; Ellen Van Nierop, Quito, Ecuador, honorary treasurer; Siraya Chunekamrai, Bangkok, honorary secretary; and board members—Drs. Nicola Neumann, Wicklow, Ireland, and Renee Chalmers Hoynck van Papendrecht, Den Helder, Netherlands