Animal Health Board reaches quorum
Chairman Michael Seals MBE
Body text The final two members of the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England (AHWBE) have been announced. The Board will be responsible for providing Ministers with advice, and Chairman Michael Seals MBE has declared that the now-complete Board is formed of ‘excellent people who know the industry well and are already making a positive contribution’. They will attend their first meeting of the Board on February 7th 2012.
The new additions are Richard Davis, an arable and dairy farmer from North Bedfordshire, and Jonathan Rushton, an economist and senior lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). They join the aforementioned Mr Seals, Chairman of the National Pig Association Stewart Houston, Director of the British Horseracing Authority Professor Tim Morris, Director of Anglo Beef Processor Stuart Roberts and farmer Mark Tufnell. Six senior DEFRA animal health officials will also be on the Board.
About Richard Davis
Mr Davis farms 104 hectares in North Bedfordshire with 70 head of young stock and 110 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows. He is a farmer director of First Milk., vice chairman of DairyCo and a member of the NFU dairy board. He is a Privy Council Lay Member at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), and has been a member of both the English Cattle Health and Welfare Group and the Compassion in World Farming/RSPCA Calf Export Forum.
About Jonathan Rushton
Mr Rushton is an agricultural economist who grew up living and working on the family dairy farm, thus informing his interest in the economics of animal health and livestock production with practical experience. He is a senior lecturer and researcher in animal health economics at the Royal Veterinary College, and a member of the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health. He also worked at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization during the global avian influenza outbreak in 2006. He is currently providing advice to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)/FAO/World Bank Working Group on foot-and-mouth disease.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
