~ World Small Animal Veterinary Association ~

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association - A History
In 1956, at a meeting of the World Veterinary Association, the decision was taken to sectionalise World Congresses and grant affiliation to specialist associations to encourage closer contact between colleagues working in the same field.  A group of British veterinarians then decided to form a specialist group in the UK, similar to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) which had been established for some time.  They believed that, once a UK association had been established, other European countries would follow and the creation of an international association would then be possible.  The BSAVA held its inaugural meeting in March 1957.

At a meeting in Madrid, Spain, in 1959, representatives from Denmark, Holland, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, the UK and the USA, created an organization called the International Association of Small Animal Specialists (IASAS).  It had an Executive Committee and a set of Statutes.  Its first meeting was sponsored by the BSAVA and took place in London in 1961.  One of its first decisions was to rename itself the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.

Initial progress was slow but, with each World Congress, more associations joined, attendance increased, and the committees became more effective.  The Journal of Small Animal Practice, which had become the WSAVA's official publication, helped to share information between countries.

By the end of 1977, associations in 18 countries had joined, representing 8,000 small animal veterinarians globally.  As time went on, more and more organizations became involved and, as sponsors also came on board, the work of the WSAVA became more diverse and more far-reaching.  A further boost to its momentum came with the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe in 1989.  This sparked the formation of further national small animal associations and specialist groups, which, in turn, joined the WSAVA.

Today, we have 96 member associations, representing 158,000 veterinarians globally.

How we operate

Integrity of the WSAVA relies on its assembly members and volunteers who comprise the current executive board. Many internal committees that are from contributions of our assembly representatives uphold the structure and function and provide a check and balance system to the organization. The following committees that perform such functions are: Financial advisory committee, Scientific advisory committee, Leadership and nomination committee.

And as the association grows to become a true “Global veterinary community” one of our  key strategic activities is in our communication. The PR and communications committee is set up to link our members to each other and also generate a “One global voice” to the world.

Membership

Currently there are 96 member and affiliate associations, representing over 158,000 individual veterinarians from around the globe.

Committees

WSAVA committees have 2 main functions. One is to carry out activities that provide continuing professional development to our members and the other is to uphold the integrity of the association and how it is remains relevant to members. Animal wellness and welfare, Continuing education, Global nutrition, Global pain council, One health, Hereditary disease, renal standardization, Vaccination guidelines all belong to the first group. Congress steering, Financial advisory, Leadership and nomination, PR and communication, Scientific advisory are committees belonging to the second group.

Projects

WSAVA projects and working groups are our various teams of experts that come together to create standards in protocol or diagnostic tools to help  practitioners create a unified approach in specific areas such as gastrointestinal, liver or renal disease, microchip identification and vaccination guidelines.

Assembly Members

Assembly members are our member association representatives (one for each member association) and are required to carry out the important task of linking up the WSAVA to respective members in their association. This ensures the continued reinforcement of creating a strong alliance, sharing of professional development and contribution within our membership.

Educational Partners

WSAVA collaborates with a range of global Educational Partners (including IPFD). These respected publications and associations help us to provide CE and other learning resources to our members around the world, either at a reduced cost and, in many cases, free of charge. We thank them for their support of the global veterinary profession.

WSAVA Board and Staff: http://www.wsava.org/about/our-people

http://www.wsava.org/