The BVA has received a response to its letters to the Secretary of State and to Environment Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland requesting an early statement to the effect that non-British EU veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses who are currently living, studying or working in the UK will continue to be able to do so in future.The BVA has received a response to its letters to the Secretary of State and to Environment Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland requesting an early statement to the effect that non-British EU veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses who are currently living, studying or working in the UK will continue to be able to do so in future.

The response from Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing MSP, which was also sent on behalf of Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham MSP, said that:

"The First Minister is seeking guarantees from the UK Government that the residency status and other existing rights of the 173,000 EU citizens living in their respective countries will remain unchanged now and in the future."

This point was echoed in a response from Wales’ Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM, who said:

"The First Minister has also made it clear there are many sectors of business, which depend on EU citizens to fill vital posts and damage to public services and the wider economy would be immense if EU citizens were required to leave the country. I appreciate this could cause difficulties in relation to the veterinary profession and delivery of our Animal Health and Welfare programmes and policies in Wales."

Similarly, the Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Michelle McIlveen MLA, acknowledged the vital contributions EU citizens make to animal health and welfare, saying:

"I will also endeavour, given the importance of animal and veterinary public health to the local economy, to ensure that this concern [you raise] is represented in the composite Northern Ireland input into the final United Kingdom negotiating position and strategy."

The new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Andrea Leadsom MP, has offered to meet with BVA President Sean Wensley to discuss these and other priority issues for the veterinary profession.

BVA is establishing a Brexit working group to prioritise and develop policies on the key issues that should be raised in forthcoming discussions and negotiations. 

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