Mette Uldahl, Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), First Vice-President
This is because being a vet is not only one thing, being a vet is a lot of different things, we take upon us a lot of different tasks in society. The Veterinary Profession is important, because we serve in crucial roles taking care of society. Think of OneHealth, handling diseases, disease outbreaks. I know that right now you are in the middle of a big struggle handling the outbreak of African Swine Fever, I know you struggle with having enough resources to handle the ASF outbreak. This is of course a national problem, here in Croatia, but then again it is not only a National problem, it is as big of a problem for other countries in Europe, because this is an example of a cross-border problem. It is a problem for all countries encountering contagious disease and outbreaks to have the structure and resources within the Veterinary Profession to handle severe situations like the one you are in right now.
There are other challenges within the Veterinary Profession, like veterinary shortage and retention. We have future challenges with implementing new rules for veterinary medicines. We have already implemented a lot of rules. We have the use of antimicrobial rules coming, where we, as vets, already take a big societal responsibility in the work against development of antimicrobial resistance. These rules are not made at national level, but we all know it is implemented at national level, and we are out there as veterinarians handling the rules in practice, when they are issued at European level, and this is why we, as a profession, should always work together on this, it is all about common structures across Europe.
Vets across Europe are one family, we have a shared porte folie. This meeting is important for me to take part in, because I can get the Croatian perspective of where you are at right now, what are your main problems? I’ll be here tomorrow as well, and I’m happy to speak to all of you, if you have any input for me, and do my best to take it back to European level.
With these few words, I’ll give you my best wishes for some prosperous days at your Veterinary Days here in Croatia. Thank you for inviting me.