Open letter: UK veterinary associations call for Cambridge University to reject closure of vet school calling the recommendation ‘premature, flawed and short-sighted’

The publication of the letter follows a meeting held today (Friday 9 January) between BVA’s President Dr. Rob Williams MRCVS and representatives from the University of Cambridge’s School of the Biological Sciences, where he pressed the school to reverse its recommendation to Cambridge University’s General Board to end its undergraduate degree course in veterinary medicine.  

In the letter, Dr. Williams expressed the strong opposition from across the veterinary profession to the closure of the vet school, citing the vital role it plays in ensuring the UK has a resilient veterinary workforce - critical to the UK economy, animal health and welfare, and protecting the UK against public health risks such as future pandemics. 

Its closure represents a ‘profound gamble with public health and scientific excellence’, with Cambridge trained vets and veterinary scientists specialising in epidemiology, disease surveillance, and interspecies transmission, on the front line of the nation's capacity to predict, prepare for, and respond to future global pandemics.  

The closure of the school would also result in the loss of a critical tertiary care centre for referrals, essential for client choice and provision of high-level care in the area, in particular for farm animals. On a wider level, closing one of the nation's most prestigious training institutions would have a significant negative impact on the pipeline and future sustainability of the veterinary workforce, limiting the supply of highly trained professionals needed to ensure food safety and security, animal welfare, and a healthy agricultural sector. 

BVA President Dr. Rob Williams MRCVS said: “The potential closure of one of the UK’s most prestigious vet schools is extremely worrying. The loss of Cambridge would undoubtedly affect current and future veterinary students, but the shockwaves will be felt far more widely, with serious implications for food safety, animal and human health and welfare; scientific research and progress; and additional pressure on the veterinary workforce providing medical care to pets, livestock and other animals. Together, the veterinary profession urges the University's governing bodies to reject this recommendation, recognise the irreplaceable public good the school provides, and commit to finding a robust, sustainable funding model that preserves Cambridge's vital role at the forefront of global health and scientific leadership. The Vet School is an indispensable national resource that must be preserved and fully supported.” 

Read the full letter here

The letter by the British Veterinary Association, was cosigned by the Association of Veterinary Teaching and Research Work, British Cattle Veterinary Association, British Deer Veterinary Association, Laboratory Animal Veterinary Association, British Equine Veterinary Association, British Veterinary Poultry Association, Goat Veterinary Society, British Veterinary LGBT+ Society, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, British Veterinary Chronic Illness Support, Association of Veterinary Students, Veterinary Public Health Association, Sheep Veterinary Society, Association of Government Veterinarians, Veterinary Management Group, Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons, British Veterinary Zoological Society, Pig Veterinary Society and Veterinary Public Health Association