KENDAL veterinary consultant and Westmorland Gazette contributor Iain Richards was elected as the new President of the Sheep Veterinary Society at their autumn conference.

The Sheep Veterinary Society brings together vets, advisers and flock owners from all over the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world who are interested primarily in the welfare of sheep.

The Society is a forum for education and discussion of sheep health and welfare. It also builds strong links with sheep farmers through the National Sheep Association.

Speaking of his election, Mr Richards said: "I am pleased. Is is good to be the president of a specialised organisation in the veterinary world.

"The SVS tries to encourage the very best practice that is out there for sheep vets.

"We offer consultancy from vets involved with sheep, as well as other experts. It is nationwide, so can be available in areas where there may not be as many sheep as there are here, so they may not have as strong support.

"We give them the opportunity to have contact with experts .

"There are quite a few people involved who aren't vets. We don't just want to be involved in sheep diseases. We want to promote the best in sheep welfare and health and so we need to know what happens on the sheep farm. We like to know what people are doing on their farms."

The Society was formed in 1967 and the its six hundred members are drawn from all sectors of the sheep industry. Most members are veterinary surgeons but a quarter of them are advisers, researchers, farmers and shepherds.

Mr Richards takes over as president from Kath Dun who becomes Senior Vice-President and is joined on the committee by new Junior Vice-President Yoav Alony Gilboa.

He qualified from Liverpool in 1988 and has spent most of his working life in mixed practice.

After working as an associate, in 1996 he took on ownership of a practice in Kendal, Cumbria.

Over the next 16 years he expanded the practice, gained his Sheep Health and Welfare certificate in 2008, and took on partners before leaving in 2010.

Iain studied and gained a Masters in Conservation Medicine in 2016 to complement a growing interest in the impact of ecology on animal health. He is now developing a consultancy on the interplay of diseases between livestock, wildlife humans and ecosystems.