The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has today welcomed the Prime Minister’s Brexit speech commitment to “guaranteeing the rights of EU colleagues already living, working and studying in the UK”, an issue which has been a priority with vets since day one.
“Each year around 50% of veterinary surgeons registering to practise in the UK are from overseas, with the vast majority coming from the EU,” said BVA President, Gudrun Ravetz (pictured above). “Consequently, Brexit and accompanying changes to the mutual recognition system or immigration restrictions could have a profound impact on the veterinary workforce.
“As a science and evidence-based profession, we also welcome the Prime Minister’s recognition of the breadth and depth of our academic and scientific communities and our cutting-edge research and innovation. We will continue to call for a regulatory and legislative framework to ensure the UK remains a globally attractive place for research and development.”
The BVA president also said she was “reassured” by the UK government’s recognition of the Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland border issue as being an “important priority” backed by the PM’s commitment to work with the devolved nations to secure the Common Travel Area as soon as she can.
“We hope Mrs May’s promise of ‘certainty wherever possible’ will help reassure our EU and UK veterinary colleagues, as well as those outside of the profession, who have had anything but certainty since the result of the UK referendum on the EU last June,” she said. “We will continue to lobby the Government on this key issue until it is resolved.”