We’re thrilled to be welcoming three new vets to E&J. Eve, Heidi and Olivia are some of the few UK-educated vets to join us in recent years and will work to protect public and animal health. Eve and Olivia graduated from the University of Bristol, undertaking work experience with us before joining, while Heidi graduated 36 years ago, moving from a career in clinical practice.

With the majority of veterinary graduates choosing to go into small animal clinics, recruiting Veterinary Public Health Official Veterinarians often presents a challenge, despite this work being vital for safeguarding animal welfare and ensuring food is safe to eat.

But what is an Official Veterinarian? Official Veterinarians look after animals that pass through the country’s abattoir system, inspect products of animal origin, and ensure that exports comply with country regulations, among many more critical tasks.

It’s an important role which makes a huge difference to the British food industry, and we are incredibly pleased to have Heidi, Olivia and Eve on board. We hope this will encourage more UK vets joining us to safeguard the welfare of 1.2 billion animals each year.

We asked our vets about why they chose a career with E&J. Here’s what they said…

“I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to see inside an abattoir before going to university and was immediately amazed at realising the huge impact a relatively small number of people have on the country’s food safety and animal welfare that mostly goes unnoticed by the wider public. This interest in veterinary public health stayed with me throughout university and I am now so excited to be working with like-minded people and using my veterinary degree in a way that can help protect both public health and animal health and welfare on a larger scale.” – Olivia

 “I am passionate about animal welfare and wish to make a difference to the Veterinary Public Health (VPH) sector. I’m keen to bring a fresh perspective to improve transparency and awareness for the significance of VPH in a rapidly changing industry. I’m looking forward to the satisfaction of the impact I will have on the welfare of animals at slaughter, as well as the contribution I will make to the British food industry in the production of high-quality meat products. I’m also excited by the diversity at E&J and the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds.” – Eve

“I have worked mostly in small animal practice since qualifying in 1987. I am passionate about animal welfare and local food production and could see that without the work done by E&J, the combined efforts of UK farmers and farm animal vets are put at risk, which is why I left practice in December 2023. I have had good support during my training period and have recently been able to start periods of solo charge on plant.

I thoroughly enjoy the international nature of E&J. I have met colleagues from many countries, and all are a credit to the veterinary profession and optimistic about their careers. I would definitely recommend that UK graduates consider joining E&J or at least learn more about what this sector is doing and what huge efforts people are making to maintain safe and healthy UK food production.” – Heidi

We’re looking forward to hearing more about how our vets are getting on and wish them all the best in their new roles.