The North of Ireland Veterinary Association (NIVA) elected Dr. Sam Strain as president for 2026 at its recent annual meeting.
He succeeds Dr. Kirsten Dunbar, who now moves into the role of senior vice president.
Dr. Strain, whose presidential theme is ‘Healthy Animals, Healthy People, Healthy Environment’, commented: “The health of animals under our care is inextricably linked to the health and wellbeing of people and of our shared environment.
“During my presidency, I want to improve our understanding of this three-way interaction.
“I want to explore what current and emerging approaches can be used in improving our understanding of current and future disease threats.”
Dr. Strain also questioned how the veterinary profession, in its range of capacities, can “develop new tools and interventions to protect the wellbeing of animals and people”.
“How can animal health measures contribute to environmental improvement and meeting emission targets?” the new NIVA president queried.
“Importantly, with the grace period on access to veterinary medicines ending in 2025, there remains significant concern around the availability of medicines within Northern Ireland, particularly as stocks carried over from the previous year run down.
“Over the next few months, we will be working closely with colleagues to monitor medicine availability and how the new schemes put in place by government are working.”
Dr. Strain
Dr. Strain is also the chief executive of Animal Health and Welfare NI (AHWNI), a not-for-profit company providing industry leadership on the control of endemic infectious diseases of ruminants in Northern Ireland.
After working in mixed general practice in Scotland and Northern Ireland for 19 years, he managed the brucella, salmonella and TB diagnostic veterinary labs within the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).
His current work focuses on the design, implementation, and management of infectious disease control programmes.
He is a member of the all-island (Ireland) technical working groups on Johne’s disease and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) as well as a board member of the International Association for Paratuberculosis and a steering group member of Ruminant Health and Welfare.
The NIVA president continued:
“I’m both honoured in and looking forward to supporting the veterinary profession within Northern Ireland.
“The issues facing the profession are wide-ranging, from the most challenging of infectious diseases such as bovine TB to emerging diseases such as bluetongue, from reviews into dog breeding legislation to equine traceability.
“The list is long and important.
“I want to champion the role of the veterinary profession within Northern Ireland by working positively and constructively with partners in government, academia, industry, and practice, to help find solutions to problems both old and new,” Dr. Strain said.
