History of the World Veterinary Association

Professor John Gamgee from the Veterinary College of Edinburgh took the initiative in April 1863 to invite veterinarians from all over Europe to a general meeting in Hamburg, Germany 14-18 July 1863. The topic of the meeting was discussion on systems to combat epizootic diseases. This meeting became the first International Veterinary Congress later known as The World Veterinary Congress. At the 8th World Veterinary Congress in Budapest, Hungary 1906 a Permanent Committee was formed to be the organizational link between congresses. At the 15th Congress in Stockholm, Sweden in 1953 it was decided to form an international association. The Permanent Committee worked with a Constitution of the World Veterinary Association until the 16th Congress in Madrid, Spain in 1959 where the World Veterinary Association was founded as a continuation of the Permanent Committee for the International Veterinary Congresses.

Today the World Veterinary Association has close cooperative contacts with large international organizations such as the International Office of Epizootics (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Close contacts and cooperation is necessary to protect and improve animal welfare, animal health and human health and the environment. To ensure implementation of the scientific discoveries and innovations the World Veterinary Congresses are still of major importance, the silver jubilee (25th) World Veterinary Congress 1995 in Yokohama, Japan becoming the latest in the long chain since Hamburg 1863.