BVA Young Vet of the Year winner Anna Hewison with Louise Longstaff, of Zoetis, and BVA President Rob Williams
BVA Young Vet Of The Year 2026 Revealed
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Winners of the BVA Awards 2026 unveiled including prestigious BVA Young Vet of the Year and the BVA Wellbeing Awards
Somerset farm vet Dr Anna Hewison has been named British Veterinary Association (BVA) Young Vet of the Year 2026. The award, which is supported by Zoetis, was announced alongside the winners of twelve other awards including the BVA Wellbeing Awards, supported by ManyPets, at the BVA Awards Dinner at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Thursday 11 June.
Full list of winners:
- BVA Young Vet of the Year, supported by Zoetis - Dr. Anna Hewison
- BVA Wellbeing Awards, supported by ManyPets:
- Small medium practice category – Vets for Pets Kirkcaldy
- Large practice category - Chapelfield Vets
- Non-clinical category – Sonopath
- BVA Veterinary Mentor Award, supported by Hill’s Pet Nutrition - Sharon Ann King
- BVA Veterinary Leader Award, supported by Vetnique - YuMOVE Veterinary - Paul Horwood
- BVA One Health and Sustainability Award: Dr Laura Higham
- BVA Outstanding Service Award: Cat Henstridge
- BVA Advancement of Veterinary Science Award - Professor Tom McNeilly
- BVA Animal Health and Welfare Overseas Award (J. Trevor Blackburn Award) - Dr Romain Pizzi
- Vet Record Impact Award: Rosemary Perkins, Gaëtan Glauser and Dave Goulson
- WVS Global Veterinary Challenge, in association with BVA: Shreya Patel, Rudi Bruijn-Yard and Francesca Haldane
The BVA Awards recognise inspirational vets and vet teams from across the profession who: go above and beyond for their patients and clients; support wellbeing and positive workplace culture; drive positive change across sustainability; deliver inspirational leadership and mentoring; and push the boundaries of veterinary science.
On the awards, British Veterinary Association President Dr Rob Williams MRCVS said: “The BVA Awards shine a light on the vital contribution vets and vet teams make in their communities and society at large; celebrating those who go the extra mile, who are outstanding in their fields; who show compassion and support for their colleagues; and make significant contributions to the health of both animals and people. We're so proud to be able to recognise their achievements and dedication and wish sincere congratulations to all our 2026 award winners.”
The winners
BVA Young Vet of the Year, supported by Zoetis
This prestigious award highlights the outstanding work of young vets; those who are making a significant contribution in their workplace or the wider veterinary community; who are leading and inspiring; or who go above and beyond what is expected of them early on in their career.
Dr Anna Hewison BVM BVS MRCVS, Shepton Mallet, Somerset
Farm vet Anna Hewison qualified from the University of Nottingham in 2022 and joined Shepton Vets, Somerset. She demonstrates consistently high standards of care, clinical excellence and genuine commitment to her development, collaboration between farmers, vet techs and her colleagues. Anna runs the practice’s Youngstock Club and has developed it into a more collaborative and effective programme, restructuring the scheme to encourage closer working relationships between vets, technicians, and farmers, ensuring a joined-up approach to youngstock management.
BVA Wellbeing Awards, supported by ManyPets
The BVA Wellbeing Awards recognise veterinary workplaces that go above and beyond to support and enhance team wellbeing as highlighted in the Good Veterinary Workplaces Voluntary Code.
- Small/Medium Practice (Up to 25 employees) winners: Vets for Pets Kirkcaldy, in Fife
The practice really looks out for its staff, fosters an inclusive environment for LGBTQ members and arranging debriefs on cases and follow ups after challenging or difficult days.
- Large Practice (Over 25 employees) winners: Chapelfield Vets, Norwich
Chapelfield Vets supports both its team and clients; it has an Autism Friendly accreditation; mental health first aiders and is as flexible as possible to all its staff, not just parents. There is also an effort made to recognise burnout and give back to the community, plus attention to physical wellbeing by arranging for staff to take part in charitable efforts such as the Shine walk to raise money.
- Non-Clinical Workplace winners: Sonopath
Sonopath offers training, equipment, and telemedicine - all in the sphere of veterinary ultrasound and works to provide a source of sonographic pathology information accessible to veterinarians of all levels of canine, feline, and exotic medicine. SonoPath's leadership encourages open communication and ensures that every team member has the ability to contribute ideas that can shape the company. Team members are encouraged to share suggestions, feedback, or concerns directly, without layers of hierarchy that might otherwise slow communication or discourage participation.
BVA Veterinary Mentor Award, supported by Hill’s Pet Nutrition
This new award recognises an inspirational mentor who has gone above and beyond to support and guide others within the veterinary professions.
Sharon Ann King BSc (HONS) BVetMed FHEA MRCVS, Aberystwyth, West Wales - Sharon, a small animal vet at Downes Veterinary Services and a lecturer in Veterinary Science at Aberystwyth School of Veterinary Science, demonstrated consistent compassion and supports those who “might have fallen into the cracks along the way”. Her nominations mentioned her personal touch and how she works hard to support those who need her as a whole person, not just as a vet student.
BVA Veterinary Leader Award, supported by Vetnique - YuMOVE Veterinary
This new award recognises an inspirational leader who has driven positive change, fostered innovation, and made a lasting difference to colleagues, the profession, and animal welfare.
Paul Horwood BVetMed DBR MBA MRCVS, Romney Marsh, Kent - Farm vet and UK Head of Farm and Exports for IVC Paul won for inspiring and supporting others through calm, principled and highly effective leadership, guiding organisations and individuals through complex situations with clarity and confidence.
BVA Outstanding Service Award
This award recognises an individual who has provided outstanding services to the veterinary profession or animal welfare, commanding international or inter-professional recognition for their work. They are known for leading important projects or contributing significantly to key initiatives which made a meaningful impact on animal welfare or the veterinary profession.
Cat Henstridge BVSc MRCVS - Cat, a small animal vet and social media influencer who is known as “Cat the Vet” by her thousands of followers, has been awarded the prestigious award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to advancing public understanding of veterinary science and animal welfare. Through her widely recognised social media platform “Cat The Vet,” she communicates evidence-based veterinary science to a wide audience, translating complex veterinary topics into accessible information that empowers pet owners to make informed decisions about their animals’ health and welfare. By actively tackling misinformation online, Cat has provided outstanding service to the profession.
BVA One Health and Sustainability Award
Presented in memory of BVA Past President Dr. Simon Doherty, a champion of sustainability and One Health, this award celebrates veterinary-led initiatives that have driven increased awareness and action on these key issues.
Dr Laura Higham BVM&S MSc PhD MRCVS, Sheffield - Director at Vet Sustain and Veterinary Consultant at FAI Farms, Laura has demonstrated exceptional leadership in embedding One Health principles within veterinary practice by positioning vets as key contributors to environmental sustainability, food system resilience and public health. By founding Vet Sustain, she created the first coordinated platform dedicated to empowering vets to act on sustainability.
BVA Advancement of Veterinary Science Award (Dalrymple-Champneys Cup and Medal)
This established award recognises a BVA member who has helped to advance veterinary science and medicine through research and knowledge sharing. They have authored outstanding scientific work or undertaken activities which advanced veterinary science and spread their knowledge. Their work has made a meaningful impact and helped to improve understanding of their chosen area of work.
Professor Tom McNeilly BSc BVM&S PhD MRCVS - Professor McNeilly is one of very few UK-based veterinary scientists who delivers numerous, innovative outputs on vaccinology of multiple animal species. His work spans parasitic, viral and bacterial research, resulting in patents and attracting very significant commercial income from worldwide sources. As Director of the Moredun Research Institute he leads scientific teams working to prevent endemic diseases. His world-leading research publication in “Vaccine” -successful immunization against a parasitic nematode by vaccination with recombinant proteins, represents many years of personal research, he recently discovered new vaccine targets for louping ill virus that provide strong protection for sheep.
BVA Animal Health and Welfare Overseas Award (J. Trevor Blackburn Award)
Recognises a veterinary professional who has worked to improve animal health and welfare overseas. They have contributed to sustainable development and made a meaningful impact on animal health and welfare in low and middle income countries.
Dr Romain Pizzi BVSc MSc PhD DZooMed DipECZM MANZCVS FRES FRSB FRGS FRCVS - Former President of BVA’s Scottish Branch Romain Pizzi has been named the winner in recognition of his work overseas with local veterinary and animal care teams, for a range of wild and endangered species. A RCVS recognised specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine and European recognised specialist in Zoological Medicine (Zoo Health Management), Romain is known for performing and publishing a number of global firsts for wildlife medicine, Romain has delivered real-world impact on animal welfare through direct engagement with new and novel surgical techniques. An unwaveringly strong representative of the UK veterinary sector overseas, Romain not only continues to pioneer new techniques but actively engages in the teaching of such techniques and skills through engagement with the veterinary community, delivering meaningful benefits for wildlife health and welfare overseas.
The Vet Record Impact Award 2026
This is given annually to research published in Vet Record that is considered to have the most potential to change veterinary practice, was awarded to Rosemary Perkins, Gaëtan Glauser and Dave Goulson for their paperSwimming emissions from dogs treated with spot-on fipronil or imidacloprid: assessing the environmental risk.
The WVS Global Veterinary Challenge, in association with BVA
This award is designed to engage veterinary students in developing innovative, sustainable solutions to pressing animal welfare challenges where there is absolute need and currently little or no help. This year, it was awarded to Shreya Patel, Rudi Bruijn-Yard and Francesca Haldane from Cambridge University for their project to tackle Peste des Petits Ruminants, or PPR, in Uganda.
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