On 5th November 2020, the EASVO General Assembly took place virtually by "GoToMeeting"
There was great sadness that we were unable to meet, in person, in Prague for the GA but were able to conduct an interesting and valuable “virtual meeting”, ably supported by Sarah from the FVE team. We agreed on the EASVO voting position for papers on the FVE General Assembly Agenda and, in particular, discussed the paper on Telemedicine in detail, supported by Rens (FVE President), but were unable to support the paper as it is currently drafted because of the implications for EASVO members and because we would seek more consideration of the role of new technologies in support of surveillance, official controls, audit/assurance and certification.
We were, again, pleased to welcome Sean (AWWG chair) to present on the work of the group and to highlight the consultation papers that are currently active on sustainable husbandry systems for laying hens and best practice for the euthanasia of horses. We also heard an update from Germany on the long-distance transport of livestock and recommended that the AWWG continue to engage with the COM in support of OVs carrying out the certification for this work.
Another key discussion point was the impact of Covid-19 on our members and we heard from Denmark on the recent cases in farmed mink and the challenges faced by OVs in delivering the disease response.
We also voted in favour of the new FVE 2020-25 strategy and will pick up work on an integrated EASVO strategy in 2021.
And finally, we were grateful to the FVE board and officials for agreeing the new Section Fee structure which is so important for our financial sustainability.
