History of FECAVA

FECAVA originated at the companion animal veterinarian practitioner meeting in Bienne (Biel), Switzerland. The group was initially called the European Harmonisation Committee, and FECAVA was officially founded on 12th of May 1990.

FECAVA fonders year 1990

The group members decided to publish an English-language veterinary publication with reprints of CE articles from national European journals. The first European Journal of Companion Animal Practice (EJCAP) was printed in 1990, and 17,000 copies were sent to the members throughout Europe. EJCAP was published twice yearly and became an online-only quarterly publication in 2012.

FECAVA members also decided to host an annual EuroCongress. The first FECAVA Congress was held in 1994 in Paris.

In 1992, FECAVA created a working group on the training of veterinary nurses in Europe. This initiative led to the set up of ACOVENE, the Accreditation Committee for Veterinary Nurse Education, in 2007.

FECAVA also organised a number of European continuing education courses in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was instrumental in setting up VetCEE (Veterinary Continuous Education) to develop standards or structured CPD and its recognition throughout Europe. It has also contributed to the elaboration of competencies for VetCEE accreditation for providers of companion animal programmes.

Other projects over the years have included antibiotic resistance, dog bite prevention, the social and economic value of pets, puppy trade and stray dog management.

For more information, go to FECAVA’s policies & actions page.

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