RCVS calls on professions to support recruitment of animal owners and keepers for new Public Advisory Group

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is calling upon members of the veterinary professions to help them recruit around 30 animal owners and keepers for a new Public Advisory Group (PAG), which will help inform and guide its policies.

The group, which will initially be set up as a pilot for a 12-month period, will support RCVS activities in upholding and advancing the educational, ethical and clinical standards of veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses, in the interests of animal health and welfare and public health. The RCVS work in the public interest and the aim of the PAG will be to help ensure they meet this objective.

Louise Allum, RCVS Council Member and Chair of the Public Advisory Group, said: “The UK veterinary and veterinary nursing professions are small, but mighty. There is a lot of responsibility resting on our shoulders to ensure that we uphold animal health and welfare and public health effectively, but we cannot do this alone.

“Animal owners and keepers play an essential role in supporting animal welfare, and it is therefore not only right, but necessary, that we actively seek to inform the public of our activities and take their opinion into account when making wide-reaching decisions.

“With the professions’ help, we are inviting animal owners and keepers from all backgrounds – from companion animal, to equine and farm – to be a part of our Public Advisory Group to help us actively engage with members of the public and to ensure that the veterinary professions continue to meet the needs of clients and animals alike. We also hope that, by involving animal owners and keepers in our work, we can improve the ways in which we communicate our messages to veterinary service users. It is vital that everyone has a chance to be a part of the conversation.”

Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO, added: “Through the PAG, we hope to gain greater insight into the experiences and opinions of animal owners and keepers to determine how we can work together to achieve what is essentially, a joint goal. We all care deeply about animal health and welfare and should therefore be united in our mission to uphold high standards.

“We are looking for a pool of around 30 individuals, including, but not limited to, owners and keepers of companion animals, and equine and production animals, to join our group. We are asking veterinary professionals to help us recruit animal owners and keepers from all walks of life, by kindly sharing information about this initiative with anyone they feel would be an appropriate, enthusiastic and engaged member of the Group.”

For more information on the Public Advisory Group, including terms of reference and how to apply, please visit www.rcvs.org.uk/pag or email Lisa Moffatt on l.moffatt@rcvs.org.uk.

The deadline for applications is 7 June 2023.