HRH The Princess Royal Receives Blue Cross Award At BEVA Congress

HRH The Princess Royal receives The Blue Cross Equine Welfare Award from Blue Cross Chairman Zair Berry. Please credit David Boughey. The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Welfare Award 2014, sponsored by Blue Cross, has been presented to Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal in recognition of her long-standing commitment to horse welfare. Horses have been a consistent feature throughout The Princess Royal’s life and she is currently President or Patron of a large number of equestrian organisations and charities. She took a leading role in the introduction of the National Equine Welfare Protocol in the wake of the Amersham welfare scandal in 2008. The Protocol sets out guidelines on how cases of horse neglect and abuse should be reported and handled, and what organisations can do to help reduce the incidence of welfare problems. Uniquely it also provides a commitment from all the signatory organisations and agencies to work effectively together. The award, which was introduced by BEVA in conjunction with the leading pet charity Blue Cross in 2000, is a formal recognition of significant contributions made by veterinary surgeons and others to horse welfare. It was presented to Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal at the 53nd BEVA Annual Congress in Birmingham on Thursday 11th September 2014, by Blue Cross Chairman Zair Berry. Zair Berry said: “The Princess Royal has championed the cause of horse welfare for many years and is a strong unifying voice for the industry. I am proud to be able to present Her Royal Highness with the BEVA Welfare Award 2014 and offer many congratulations.” Blue Cross has been dedicated to helping sick, injured and abandoned pets for over 100 years. It opened the world’s first animal hospital in 1906 to care for working horses on the streets of London and since then its doors have never closed to sick and homeless animals. Funded entirely by public donations, today the charity rehabilitates and rehomes over a hundred horses and ponies every year at its horse centres in Burford (Oxon) and Rolleston-on-Dove (Staffordshire).

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