The Links Group’s connection with the British Small Animal Veterinary Association goes back a long way, all the way to our beginnings. One of our founder members is Freda Scott-Park, a Past President of the BSAVA.
Freda was the BSAVA Public Relations Officer sent to cover a conference called “Forging the Link” in November 2001, where the findings of a series of four research papers published between May and August 2001 in the BSAVA’s Journal of Small Animal Practice were discussed. These were the “battered pets” series of papers by Helen Munro and Mike Thrusfield, and shortly after that conference, The Links Group began.
As we ready ourselves for our 25th anniversary in 2026, we are pleased to say that – thanks to the generosity of the team at BSAVA once again – we can share with you The Links Group Collection from the BSAVA Library. BSAVA have made a series of articles connected to The Links Group open access.
In there you’ll find a wide range of interesting reading, including interviews with Freda, Sylvia Jeffers, a health visitor, and Dr. Mary Wakeham, Links Group trustee and CEO of Refuge4Pets specialist domestic abuse animal fostering service; each bringing their own experience of “The Link” from their respective fields of work. Reports by Freda, Links Group Chair Paula Boyden and Strategic Delivery Lead Andrea Lynch outline how Links Group training has developed over the last ten years. John Bonner outlines the importance of the work of The Links Group in building connections between vet practices and all those agencies that may be involved in identifying, preventing or ameliorating the effects of domestic abuse towards children, adults, or their pets; with a focus on how the Welsh government were tackling domestic abuse.
Why not take a look at the library collection here? We know where it took Freda – where might it take you?!
With huge thanks to BSAVA for their generosity in making this collection open access, as well as all their support with the Links Veterinary Training Initiative (the next multi-agency training day is in Edinburgh on 4 June – find out more here and save your place now), Hestia’s Online Safe Spaces, and more.
To join our annual supporters’ meeting, please register here – places are limited to the first 100 and are filling up fast.
