World veterinary year 2011

The world’s first veterinary school was founded in Lyon, France, in 1761, shortly followed by the Alfort veterinary school, near Paris, in 1764, both of them at the initiative of French veterinarian Claude BOURGELAT. This means that 2011 will mark the 250th world anniversary of veterinary education. By setting up the world’s first veterinary training institutions, BOURGELAT created the veterinary profession itself. Thus, 2011 will also mark the 250th world anniversary of the veterinary profession. Bourgelat’s genius did not stop there. As a result of his fruitful collaboration with surgeons in Lyon, he was also the first scientist who dared to suggest that studying animal biology and pathology would help to improve our understanding of human biology and pathology. 2011 will also mark the 250th anniversary of the concept of comparative pathobiology, without which modern medicine would never have emerged. Therefore, it is not just the anniversary of the creation of veterinary training that we should be celebrating in France in 2011. The entire world should join with us in celebrating our veterinary profession, which has been working to improve both animal and human health for the past 250 years. We hereby propose that 2011 should be declared:

World Veterinary Year 2011.

Vet for health, Vet for food, Vet for the planet!

In 2011, all the veterinary institutions that will join World Veterinary Year will have to organise in their own countries events to promote our profession. This year, all international veterinary institutions, each in its special field, will dedicate themselves to promoting, during their annual event, a session celebrating the birth of our profession.

The main aim is to improve public awareness and remind policymakers everywhere in the world that:

Our profession has been serving humankind for 250 years;
Modern veterinarians are not only animal doctors and animal welfare advocates, they are also key public health stakeholders because of their crucial role in: