Fermoy vet Ian Fleming, who is based in Duntahane Veterinary Clinic, has been elected to the Veterinary Council of Ireland by his peers.
Mr Fleming will join three other newly elected candidates on the national council on January 1st next.
He said he is looking forward to the challenges of his four-year term on the council, which is the statutary body responsible for all aspects of veterinary practice in Ireland.
“It’s a great honour and I never thought it would happen,” Mr Fleming said.
“I certainly have some issues that I feel very strongly about and I look forward to conversations in several areas of animal welfare and food production.”
A changed world
Mr Fleming, whose practice is largely comprised of farms, said challenges faced in veterinary medicine at the moment include the increased trend towards corporate ownership of vet practices and the pressures that Brexit and other political situations have placed on food production.
“There’s a drift towards the corporate ownership of veterinary practices at the moment, and it’s an issue I feel strongly about,” he said speaking this week to The Avondhu. “I have opinions that some will find controversial; it’s a changed world and I don’t think the change is always necessarily good.”
“I would also like to see changes to food production. I think we have the potential to be producers of top quality food in this country and I’d dispute the quality currently because the methods are being driven to increasing levels of industrialisation and that’s bad for animal welfare and bad for quality.”
