Add Vets and Vet nurses to the list of key workers in the Covid-19 pandemic · petition

What the petition asks

We urge the government to add Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Nurses to the Key workers list. With school closures coming imminently this will affect a lot of our colleagues should they need to take care of children.

We have a public obligation to take care of our clients and their pets as well as the risks to public health should we not be able to provide preventive healthcare to animals. Please consider our urgent request. The Veterinary profession tends to be forgotten about in situations like this but we are all pulling together to help keep practices open for sick and injured animals.

Why it was rejected

The UK Government or Parliament was already taking the action it asked for.

Since you started this petition, the Government has published guidance for schools on maintaining educational provision for the children of key workers. You can read this here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

Following this, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and British Veterinary Association (BVA) issued a joint statement to provide clarification for veterinary surgeons, stating that those involved in urgent care or care related to farm animals can be considered key workers : https://www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-views/news/coronavirus-rcvs-and-bva-issue-joint-guidance-on-key-worker/

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

Timeline

18 Mar 2020	Petition opened for signatures
8 Apr 2020	Rejected by the Petitions Committee