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BVNA council election results announced
The elected candidates will work on a voluntary basis to represent the veterinary nursing profession.
Investigation into election engagement planned after low turnout.

Three veterinary nurses and two students have been elected to the British Veterinary Nursing Association’s (BVNA’s) Board of Council following this year’s council elections.

The online poll closed on Friday, 7 July 2023. Out of 6,038 eligible voters, 212 cast their votes, a turnout of just 3.51 per cent.

This was slightly down on the previous year and is part of a trend of low turnouts in BVNA council elections, something the organisation is planning to address in the coming year.

The results in the election of RVN candidates were as follows:
Declan Jones (113) – elected
Victoria Foulkes (109) – elected
Cheryl Plimmer (77) – elected
Krishna Mistry (73)
Felicity Caldwell (72)
Kimberley Boparai (61)

The outcome of the student candidates election was:
Ellis Stokes (101) – elected
Poppy Meredith (96) – elected
Kate Davies (87)
Julia Hamilton (66)

The newly elected members will serve on the 14-member council for three years from October 2023. Elections are staggered so that new council members are elected every year.

BVNA president Charlotte Pace said: “On behalf of BVNA, I would like to thank all the candidates who stood for this year’s council election, along with all members who took the time to vote. We congratulate the successful candidates and look forward to welcoming them onto BVNA Council at the AGM, which takes place at BVNA Congress on Sunday, 8 October. With our ongoing campaigns working towards legislative change, which include statutory protection of the ‘veterinary nurse’ title, it is an exciting time to be representing the profession.
 
“However, while we were pleased that a good number of candidates stood for election in 2023, we note that turnout to this year’s election was low at 3.51 per cent. In the coming year, we will be proactively investigating how we can encourage improved turnout and overall engagement with the election process. We would strongly encourage our members to take the opportunity to engage with BVNA, which includes using their voice to shape who is representing the VN profession.”

 

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Germany livestock import ban lifted

The UK government has amended its ban on the import of livestock, meat and dairy products from Germany.

Defra said the decision follows 'rigorous technical assessment' of the measures applied and the current situation. "If the situation changes, we will not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect our domestic biosecurity," it said.

The ban was implemented in January following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) near Berlin. Personal imports of meat, milk and dairy products will remain in place at a country level.