A commercial poultry and gamebird vet has been named the British Veterinary Association’s Young (BVA) Vet of the Year 2023. Dr Henry Lamb of Crowshall Veterinary Services was given the title in recognition of his outstanding work tackling avian influenza.
Lamb, from Norfolk, was presented with the prestigious award at this year’s BVA Gala Dinner, which was held at the London Marriot Hotel in Canary Wharf as part of London Vet Show.
A total of 140 nominations were received for this year’s award, which is sponsored by Zoetis and celebrates vets in the first stages of their professional career making a significant impact. The judging panel comprised BVA President Anna Judson; Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) President Sue Paterson; National Veterinary Lead Ruminant and Equine at Zoetis UK Ally Ward; and last year’s award winner vet Hannah Hunt.
In addition to his work tackling bird flu, the judges also acknowledged Henry’s role in encouraging other young vets to join the poultry industry. After graduating from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in 2018, he began working at Crowshall Veterinary Services, Norfolk, providing dedicated consultancy and Official Veterinarian (OV) provision to the poultry and gamebird industry across Great Britain and internationally.
Henry is also a mental health first aider and trustee of regional rural mental health charity You Are Not Alone (YANA), deputy rotation lead for the new RVC poultry rotation, which takes its first students in 2024, and is also co-lead of his practice green group through which he has steered his practice to the top Green accreditation for sustainability with Investors in the Environment. In his role as external lecturer for the RVC, Henry provides opportunities to engage with avian population medicine for new members of the profession.
“To be named BVA Young Vet of the Year is a huge honour and it means all the more having heard about the outstanding work, dedication and skills of the other two finalists. I’m delighted that after a challenging few years the poultry sector has been highlighted tonight, as all those involved have worked tirelessly to overcome the largest animal health outbreak the UK has experienced in recent times – I hope that winning this award will encourage more young vets to consider joining us in the poultry sector. It’s extremely rewarding work.”