Senior lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) John Fishwick has been appointed president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) for 2017/2018.

After graduating from Cambridge University in 1985, John worked in small animal and farm animal general practice. Specialising in cattle health and production, he became a lecturer in Farm Animal Practice at the RVC in 1990 where he was responsible for the farm animal side of the RVC’s Large Animal Practice (Ambulatory Clinic), serving clients throughout Hertfordshire and Essex.

In 1997, he moved to Saudi Arabia where he worked as the head veterinarian to the world’s largest fully integrated dairy company, farming over 25,000 high producing dairy cows in a desert environment.

He returned to the RVC in 2003 as senior lecturer in Dairy Herd Medicine and from 2006 he was head of the Biological Services Unit for three years. In 2012, he was appointed as head of the newly formed Department of Production and Population Health. John stood down as head of department earlier this year.

On becoming BVA president, he said: “It is a huge honour to represent my fellow members of BVA. I am constantly inspired by the tenacity and dedication of my colleagues and it is a privilege – particularly during this time of professional, social and political upheaval – to be so involved in a profession that is pivotal to animal health, welfare and protecting human health too.

“I am very much looking forward to the opportunities, and challenges, of the year ahead and the potential of the veterinary team if we all work together.”