I became vegetarian at the age of sixteen and vegan twenty-three years later. In 2015 I co-founded the Veterinary Vegan Network.
The Veterinary Vegan Network (VVN) is a movement of qualified and trainee veterinary surgeons, nurses, paraveterinary individuals and their loved ones who believe that veganism is a moral imperative. And that those involved in the veterinary profession and in other animal care services should be leading by example. VVN supports an abolitionist approach to all forms of animal use and exploitation and will work to educate both those within the sector and more widely.
VVN was launched in December 2015 with a Facebook page as the first initiative.
A private Facebook group was added in March 2016 with the bringing of the Veterinary Vegans group under the VVN
umbrella.
Blog posts have started to be posted on Medium; going forward other resources are likely to include a website and a podcast as we
leverage the community for activism and education about veganism.
The aim is for VVN to become an international hub and authority for veganism in the veterinary and paraveterinary sectors. And to help veterinary-related individuals to educate, inform and persuade others that veganism is a moral imperative. Our mission is to be the centre of vegan activism within the veterinary and paraveterinary sectors and to support those leading by example.
VVN was founded by me and by Laila Kassam, a Development Economist and my partner. We are based in the United Kingdom. We were joined shortly after launch by Melissa Resnick a veterinarian based in the USA and Nigel Davies a UK-based veterinarian. Both have since stepped back from their involvement in the project due to other commitments.