New Officer roles, Council Members and awards at RCVS Day

RCVS Day - the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeon's AGM and Awards Day - saw the investiture of the new President, Professor Sheila Crispin, on 7 July 2006 at London Zoo.

Only the fifth woman to hold the office of President since the RCVS was established in 1844, Professor Crispin retired from a full-time academic post as Professor of Comparative Ophthalmology at the University of Bristol in 2004, where she is now a Visiting Professorial Fellow in the University's Department of Anatomy.

After qualifying from the University of Cambridge, Professor Crispin worked in a predominantly large animal practice in Cumbria, followed by locum work, before returning to academia, initially at Cambridge and subsequently at the Universities of Edinburgh and Bristol.

She has specialist qualifications in veterinary anaesthesia and ophthalmology although her scientific expertise extends beyond these areas and encompasses other aspects of comparative medicine, as well as educational, ethical, environmental and agricultural issues.

Professor Crispin, a Fellow of the College, was an appointed RCVS Council Member for the University of Bristol from 1997 to 2003 and became an elected member of Council in 2003. She has served on a number of Committees and Sub-committees, has chaired the Specialisation and Further Education Committee and has acted as both chairman and member of a number or RCVS working parties.

RCVS Day also brought other changes to the RCVS Officer team: Lynne Hill, outgoing RCVS President, became Senior Vice-President, and Bob Moore took up the role of Junior Vice-President and relinquished the job of Treasurer to Dr Jerry Davies.

John Parker stood down as Senior Vice-President: "The veterinary profession is fortunate to have such an approachable and honest advocate," said Lynne Hill, describing John Parker as having been an 'extremely valued member' of the RCVS team.

Other retiring Council Members included Judy MacArthur Clark, who had served on Council for 24 years, and John Bailey.

Recently-elected Council Members Mrs Clare Tapsfield-Wright and Mrs Jacqui Molyneux were welcomed, and Professor Alistair Barr joined Council to take over as Bristol University representative from Professor Avril Waterman-Pearson. New Veterinary Nurses Council Members were also greeted by the President: Hilary Orpet, Josephine Yates and Elizabeth Branscombe.

President Lynne Hill conferred a range of awards, including an Honorary Associateship upon The Countess of Mar, described as "Entertaining, enthusiastic and informative on all matters relating to the veterinary profession and agricultural community".

An Honorary Associateship had been presented on an earlier occasion to the Baroness Byford DBE, who was unable to attend RCVS Day.  Honorary Fellowships were awarded to Dr Timothy Fletcher and Dr James Gardner Murray (in absentia), and the Dame Olga Uvarov Award, a cash prize for a researcher under the age of 35, was presented on behalf of the RCVS Trust to Dr Nicola Menzies-Gow.

Fellowships (by Thesis) were awarded to Ian Robinson, Michael Stanford and Frances Harcourt-Brown, and veterinary and veterinary nursing diplomas were also awarded.

Mrs Hill presented a gift to past-President Lord Lawson Soulsby to mark his 80th birthday, describing him as: "One of the world's leading figures in veterinary science… a veterinary surgeon who is a scientist, an educationalist and a representative of the profession in the highest places."

Before handing over her chain of office, Mrs Hill then delivered her Presidential Address.

Guest speaker at the event was Andrew Routh, Senior Veterinary Officer of the Zoological Society of London, who gave a fascinating account of the declining population of vultures in India and the Society's role in their conservation.

In a project backed by a large group of funders and collaborators, it had been established that the likely cause of an over 99% decrease in the populations of three different species of griffon vulture was the presence of residues of the veterinary anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac in many cattle carcases.

The Indian vultures, which play a critical role in the disposal of cattle carcases (not consumed by people for religious reasons) and the 'sky burial' ceremonies of the Parsis, had proved to be particularly susceptible to this drug, which caused renal failure in the birds.

Through a combination of education, the establishment of breeding centres, lobbying the authorities to withdraw diclofenac and the provision of a more "vulture-friendly" alternative for veterinary use, Mr Routh hoped there would be a positive future for the vultures of India.

A two-minute silence was observed at 12 noon to remember those who died in the 7 July 2005 London Bombings.