Leah won the award for her extraordinary dedication, compassion, unwavering devotion to her patients and professionalism in all aspects of her work, both in practice and outside it.
After graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 2021, Leah began working as a mixed practice vet at Flett and Carmichael Veterinary Surgeons in Orkney, where she always goes the extra mile for her patients, whether within her practice or out and about in the Orkney countryside and coastline.
She is involved with multiple charities outside of work, becoming an Orkney Nature Festival trustee, a British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) medic and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme volunteer.
Her involvement is not confined to daylight hours or predictable situations as she frequently responds to emergency call-outs for seals, porpoise or dolphins at all hours, often in challenging conditions.
It is not uncommon for her to be found on windswept beaches in the dead of night, providing expert care to stranded or injured marine mammals.
She has also been involved in providing first aid to stranded whales and dolphins and assisting in their re-floatation or euthanasia when the animals can’t be refloated due to illness and also assisted with 37 pilot whale postmortems on Sanday, Orkney, in 2024 after the most significant mass stranding event in the UK in the last 100 years.
Leah said: “I am very humbled to even be nominated, let alone win this award, especially when I know how many amazing and talented young vets there are in the UK.
"I truly do love the work that I do, island vetting really is unique and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help make a difference.”
Rachel Dean won her award for her significant contribution to clinical practice and veterinary education.
Since graduating from the University of Glasgow, she has worked in mixed, dairy and small animal general practice in the private, charity and academic sectors.
"She is passionate about veterinary healthcare and is a recognised international leader of evidence-based veterinary medicine and encourages authentic collective clinical leadership and progressing care through developing professional connections, research, innovation, quality improvement and professional development.
BVA President Rob Williams said: “Rachel's work on evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM), including founding the Centre for Evidence-based Veterinary Medicine at University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine, has been truly pioneering and she is an impressive educator, having delivered education and mentoring in the fields of feline and shelter medicine.”
Andrew Cunningham won his award for his exceptional contributions to the advancement of veterinary medicine and the field of wildlife veterinary science.
Andrew is currently Deputy Director of Science at ZSL, where he has worked in various roles since 1988.
He has led several national and international, multi-disciplinary wildlife disease research projects investigating the emergence, spread, impact and mitigation of disease threats to wildlife conservation, understanding the role of anthropogenic environmental change on wildlife disease emergence.
His large body of original, high-quality research has had major impacts across conservation biology, veterinary science and public health, informing and influencing the policies of governments, intergovernmental organisations and NGOs.
Polly Compston received her award for her outstanding contribution to animal health and welfare on a global scale.
After graduating from Edinburgh Vet School, Polly worked in mixed and small animal practice before completing a residency in clinical research at Rossdales Equine Hospital alongside an MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public Health.
She went on to work in research for an NGO, developing an evidence base for animal welfare interventions across Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America, and later completed a PhD on the economic and social drivers of foot-and-mouth disease control in Kenya.
She currently has two roles, one as Veterinary Head of Outbreak Central Services at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), leading licensing, tracing and surveillance teams in the UK’s response to notifiable disease outbreaks, and also as a Technical Lead at EuFMD supporting international efforts for improved transboundary livestock disease control.
Finally, Pet People Vets, 387 Vets and Brooke Action for Working Horses and Donkeys all won a Wellbeing Award for going above and beyond to support staff wellbeing.
Congratulations to one and all!
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