Engage with the veterinary profession to support a net zero future
When considering who to turn to for advice on achieving sustainability and net zero goals, you may not instantly think of the veterinary profession. Yet the British Veterinary Association’s new Net Zero report sets out our vision for the sector to be “leading as a strong advocate for environmental sustainability and its benefits to human and animal health and wellbeing”.
As scientists positioned at the human-animal-environmental interface, veterinary professionals’ skills provide an advantage in understanding and communicating climate science. As a health-centred profession, we are well aware that climate change and environmental degradation will have a significant negative impact on human and animal health and wellbeing, and our work provides a unique insight into the effect this is already having on animals. So, it is no surprise that a recent BVA survey1 found 93% of vets say that sustainability is important to them.
Veterinary professionals can lead the path towards environmental sustainability, not only by taking action to reduce their team's carbon footprint, but also by advocating for, and communicating climate science and its impact on animal and human health. Significant efforts are being made to tackle day-to-day emissions from veterinary activities, eg from use of anaesthetic gases, which the case studies in the BVA and Vet Sustain Net zero report highlight.
But more significantly, veterinary professionals have unique opportunities to affect the carbon emissions of the many other sectors they are closely linked with. Entrusted with the care of companion animals, and advising on the husbandry and management of livestock, veterinary professionals have enormous potential to influence the carbon footprint of the animals under their care2. Food producing animals in particular can have a very significant carbon footprint, and with a relatively small number of vets working with these species, each individual has huge potential to make a positive impact when advising clients on ways to lower that environmental impact. Veterinary professionals working with food producing animals can uniquely influence the future of food sustainability and security as vets on farms have the opportunity to reframe advice with a more climate focused lens.
We also must not ignore the role animal health and welfare plays in achieving a more sustainable future. As well as being a key sustainability objective in itself, improving animal health and welfare ultimately reduces emissions, both through the reduced need for veterinary treatment and through reduced mortality rates improving sustainability of the food production sector. Veterinary surgeons play an essential role in providing preventive healthcare and treatment for animals, carrying out health monitoring and disease surveillance, improving biosecurity measures, undertaking research and development, and promoting high animal health and welfare, all of which can support sustainability goals.
As an evidence-based, scientific profession, the veterinary voice can be a highly valuable tool for influencing, educating and informing others on sustainability. BVA therefore calls on policy makers to consider the beneficial role vets could play in achieving the UK’s net zero goals, and we stand ready to work with Government for the good of people, animals and the planet.
References
1. BVA Voice of the veterinary profession survey 2024
2. Prentis, A. (2021). The carbon footprint of the animals under our care. Veterinary Practice, Mar, 21.
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