The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) has welcomed a vote by a European Parliamentary committee to establish regular farm animal health visits.

"Cornerstone of 'Prevention is better than cure'" said Federation president

European MPs have supported a move to establish regular farm animal health visits and other changes aimed at disease prevention.

The decision by European Parliament's Agriculture and Rural Development committee, as been welcomed by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE).

President of FVE Christophe Buhot, said: “Regular farm visits are the cornerstone of the 'prevention is better than cure' strategy; they are indispensable for the prevention and early detection of possible animal health issues.”

FVE also praised the commitee's decisions on good stockmanship and responsible pet ownership, saying it would help strengthen operators’, animal professionals’ and pet keepers’ basic knowledge of animal health.

It added the committee had recognised the link between animal health, animal welfare and public health.

"The introduction of doctors, in addition to veterinarians, as being responsible for reporting zoonotic diseases underlines the need for a multidisciplinary One Health approach, the FVE has been supporting for years," said a FVE statement.

"With regard to companion animals, FVE applauds the attention paid to stray dogs and the adoption of the amendment on the introduction of identification and registration of dogs."