FVE, COPA-COGECA and FESASS Joint Webinar: “Strengthening Preventive Animal Health Visits: Towards a Consistent and Collaborative EU Approach”
7 November 2025
Veterinarians, farmers, policymakers and animal health experts from across Europe came together today for a joint webinar organised by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), COPA-COGECA, and FESASS, focusing on how to make preventive animal health visits a central pillar of sustainable livestock management in the EU.
FVE President Siegfried Moder opened the event, emphasising that preventive health visits are not merely a regulatory requirement but a shared investment in animal health, farm resilience and public trust in food systems.
The keynote speakers reflected Europe’s wide-ranging expertise in veterinary policy and practice:
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Barbara Logar, Deputy Head of Unit for Animal Health at the European Commission, outlined the state of play under the EU Animal Health Law, stressing that the rules should support, not burden, farmers and veterinarians. Slides HERE.
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Louise Lemming from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration shared Denmark’s experience with co-created biosecurity systems and highlighted the importance of trust-based agreements between farmers and veterinarians. Slides HERE.
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Nancy De Briyne, Executive Director of FVE, reflected on lessons learned from across Europe based on FVEs Position Paper and Report on the implementation of animal health visits, underlining the need for consistency, training, and meaningful data sharing. Slides HERE.
The discussion panel featured Miguel Ángel Higuera (COPA-COGECA, slides HERE), Simone Steiner (FESASS/Animal Health Association Austria, slides HERE) and Kris Van Malderen (FESASS), who showcased successful best-practice models from across Europe. All speakers and panellists reflected on collaborative farm health databases, national biosecurity programmes, and successful farmer–vet partnerships.
Participants agreed that preventive visits offer measurable benefits — improving productivity, reducing disease risks, and strengthening consumer confidence — and should be supported through coherent EU and national frameworks and guidelines while allowing for flexibility to accommodate regional and local necessities.
Closing the session, Dr Jane Clark (FVE Vice President) summarised the main message: “Preventive visits are about partnership — a dialogue between farmers and veterinarians that keeps animals healthy, strengthens their welfare, safeguards food safety, and helps to curb antimicrobial use. Collaboration, consistency, and trust are key to turning this into a truly European success story.”
All presentations are in the download section, and you can watch the full recording HERE.
The joint organisations will compile today’s insights into a shared report to inform discussions under the upcoming Cypriot and Irish Council Presidencies.
