Today is
International Women’s Day. I acknowledge the incredible work of female veterinarians,
veterinary nurses, animal health technicians, practice managers, and those
working hard in our professional associations to support us.
I would like today to
acknowledge my late colleague, Dr Helen Fairnie Jones, who co authored “She’s
No Lady – She’s the Vet: Stories from 100 Years of Female Vets in Australia”. The
book documents the incredible career trajectories of pioneering and
trailblazing women, and can be purchased via this site.
At the moment, colleagues on the East Coast of Australia, particularly South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales, are experiencing the impacts of climate change, with record-breaking floods. I know of three veterinary practices that have been physically destroyed. They will rebuild, but they need support. The Australian Veterinary Association’s Veterinary Benevolent Fund is providing assistance, and accepts donations.
Colleagues have
established a Northern Rivers Livestock and Horse Flood Disaster fund to help purchase
and distribute fodder, field equipment, animal yarding and transport, veterinary
pharmaceuticals and helicopter fuel so that stranded animals can be located and
fed.
To donate visit here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/northern-rivers-livestock-horse-flood-disaster
For those seeking to
act on climate change, please consider volunteering for and/or donating to
Veterinarians for Climate Action. More info here.
Meanwhile in Europe,
The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), together with the European Federation
of Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (FECAVA) and the World Veterinary
Association (WVA) have established a web portal designed to act as an information
hub with links to different efforts to assist Ukranian veterinarians their
families, and animals.
Please note that this
page will be updated as information about new initiatives becomes available. www.VetsForUkraine.com