World Veterinary Day – April 29th 2023

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World Veterinary Day is one day of the year completely dedicated to the lovely people that decided to dedicate their lives to the love, health, and well-being of the animals on this planet. This day is celebrated all around the globe every last Saturday of April. This year, that Saturday in April the 29th.
This veterinarian holiday was first celebrated in the year 2000 with the motive to highlight the lives and the hard work carried by the veterinarians all over the world.

We may love our dogs, cats, horses, all other farm animals, but one thing they all have in common, and we must love that one thing, is their doctors, the veterinarians. Without the veterinarians, and all other veterinary professionals that help them, the animals that we care so much about will have lives with lower quality, shorter life spans, and less happiness. We must agree that veterinarians are essential for an animal to have a great life.

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History of World  Veterinary Day

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The history of the celebration of the World Veterinary Day lays in the history of the World Veterinary Association. Approximately 150 years ago, the very first International Veterinary Congress was held in Edinburgh, organized by the professor of Anatomy and Physiology Dr. J. Gamgee form the Dick Veterinary College. The WVA, World Veterinary Association, exists to unite and represent all the veterinarians in the world and generally the veterinary profession. Their mission is to promote animal health and in general global public health, and to promote private and public veterinary services. 

The goal of celebrating World Veterinary Day

The main goal of the World Veterinary Day is to promote and raise awareness about animal health and welfare and to do that, they select a different theme every year. In 2018 the theme of the World Veterinary Day was “THE ROLE OF THE VETERINARY PROFESSION IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE LIVELIHOODS, FOOD SECURITY, AND SAFETY”. This year’s theme was more oriented on the farm animals and the importance veterinarians have on their health and the whole “from stable to the table” process, the importance of the veterinarian work to guarantee safe food and healthy livestock, and safe and healthy human world population.

This year 2020, the theme is:
Environmental protection for improving animal and human health.
It is all about the inextricable linking between the environmental, human and animal health. How negative changes to the environment affect us and the animals.

The theme is selected in collaboration with the OIE (Organization for Animal Health).
The World Veterinary Association with celebrating this day aims to educate the public through social media and conventional media channels about the importance of veterinarians for the public health and their important role in the society.

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In 2008, the World Veterinary Association in cooperation with the OIE invented the WVD Award. The aim of this award is to highlight and reward the most successful contribution to the veterinary profession on the selected theme each year. This competition is open to all the members of the WVA, or members of a cooperative association. The winner of the award for 2020 will be selected and announced on the WVA and OIE websites.

How can you be a part of the World Veterinary Day?

On this day, take some time to appreciate your veterinarian, no matter if you have a dog, cat, a bird, or a flock of sheep, send your animal caregiver a “thank you note”, a box of chocolates or a gift to thank them for all the fearless injections. Do not forget that your pets are also part of this day. Make it a proper holiday, take your dog for a special walk, give your dogs and cats their favorite treat, and cuddle more than usual. They will totally appreciate it!
Also, do not forget to capture the great moments with your pet, and your vet, and share them on your social media under the hashtags #WorldVeterinaryDay and #iloveveterinary . Also, you can use these hashtags to see how other people around the world celebrate this day.

Happy World Veterinary Day!

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