On Tuesday 24 March we received a very warm welcome to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Campus for the Scottish leg of our UK-wide Links Veterinary Training Initiative multi-agency day. Organised by the Scottish regional committee’s Lyndsay Kennedy and The Links Group team, we were perfectly placed at the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education. Huge thanks to the reception, catering and servitor teams at the School for hosting us so well.
This event was over-subscribed, but the staff at the School ensured our comfort and safety, and we were delighted to have support and literature from Vetlife, the animal fostering services of Freedom and Lifeline, and East & Mid-Lothian Women’s Aid, as well as a research poster displays from RVN Jessica Ross with her recent study, “Taking It Out On The Dog”.
We were also joined by Fiona Mc Dowall, RVN and Student Mental Health First Aider, one of the team there to support on the day alongside Vetlife, Women’s Aid and the NSPCC.
We were honoured to have special guests in the room. Freda Scott-Park, a founding member and previous Links Group Chair joined us, as did Professor Mike Thrusfield. Prof. Thrusfield co-authored the “Battered Pet” series of papers published in the BSAVA’s Journal of Small Animal Practice with Helen Munro, and their work has been crucial in this field.
Completing the full house were our speakers and professionals from the veterinary and animal welfare sector, academia, domestic and sexual abuse services, children’s services, social work, the NHS, policing, and more.
Speakers included:
- Roseanna Macdonald, Learning & Development Co-ordinator, Scottish Women’s Aid
- Rachel Caldcleugh, Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor, NSPCC Helpline, NSPCC
- DCI Gary Sergeant, Domestic Abuse Coordination Unit, Police Scotland
- Dr. Ian Futter, private practitioner and veterinary professional witness
- David Martin, veterinary forensic expert witness and The Links Group trustee
- Asta Parker, Forensic Veterinary Case Officer, and Gilly Mendes-Ferreira, Director of Strategic Communications & Partnership Engagement, Scottish SPCA
- Natalie Ratcliffe, Regional Manager for Lifeline, Cat Protection’s pet fostering service
- Paula Boyden, The Links Group Chair, with Rebecca Stephens, Associate Professor Social Work, Uni. of Sussex, Links Group Trustee and Andrea Lynch, Strategic Delivery Lead, The Links Group.
Again, we are indebted to all our speakers, who give their time and expertise pro bono. We realise that each could speak for a day on their chosen subjects, and we thank them and the audience for delivering and receiving as much content in as possible during the day.
The conversations throughout the breaks, during the final panel session, and following the event demonstrate the commitment to embedding an understanding of ‘The Link’ in all our practices, and to ensure processes can include management of this important aspect of Protecting Animals, Protecting People – please visit our online learning hub to access this free online modular course, made possible by the generous support of Pets Foundation.
Thank you again to BSAVA for their support of this series, and to Elle for all her administrative and logistical wizardry!
If you missed out on this event and want to join us on future events, we’ll be in Brighton on 21/05/26.
