Veterinary Green Discussion Forum

Fifth Veterinary Green Discussion Forum Unites The Profession Around Regenerative Agriculture, Biodiversity, Rewilding And Antibiotic Stewardship 

The fifth Veterinary Green Discussion Forum (VGDF) in June brought together 58 veterinary and animal health professionals from across Europe for two days on a regenerative farm in the Camargue, France's UNESCO-recognised wetland biosphere, to discuss “How The Veterinary Profession Can Become An Exemplar For One Health And Lead Other Sectors.”

VGDF 2026 drew participants from across the species types — farm, equine and small animal veterinary care — as well as the wider sector and profession: corporate veterinary groups, sustainability NGOs, pet nutrition and supply chain partners, startups, regulators, regenerative farmers, universities, veterinary press, wildlife trusts, along with four students from Cambridge, Surrey, VetAgro Sup (Lyons) and LMU Munich, and a Member of the Royal Veterinary College’s Team.

This annual forum underlines the importance of ongoing collaborative, cross-disciplinary discussion, providing a valuable platform for experts from across veterinary medicine, animal health, agriculture, sustainability and conservation to explore how the profession can respond to urgent challenges which this year focused on biodiversity, regenerative agriculture and antibiotic stewardship.

Discussion focused on three topics: Regenerative Agriculture, Biodiversity & Rewilding and Antibiotic Stewardship.

Read the Exec Summary via the following link: https://thewebinarvet.sharepoint.com/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2FShared%20Documents%2FOperations%20and%20Events%2FBeck%2FVGDF%20Executive%20Summary%202026%2FVGDF%5F2026%5FExecutive%5FSummary%5F%2010%2E08%2E26%2Epdf&parent=%2FShared%20Documents%2FOperations%20and%20Events%2FBeck%2FVGDF%20Executive%20Summary%202026&p=true&ga=1

Headlines from VGDF5

• Keynote speaker Margo Mosher, Global Sustainability Head at Mars Veterinary Health set the context around the scientific imperative, the business case, and veterinarians’ unique partnership with pet owners, farmers and landowners.

• Professor John Gilliland OBE, regenerative farmer and Chair of ARC Zero, shared evidence that regenerative practices can deliver multiple public benefits at once — from one farm to a 178-farm soil baselining pilot across Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

• Ten guest experts shared latest best practices and research to spark debate and innovation, including a session on regenerative agriculture practices, efforts and partnership across nutrition supply chains, as well as a panel building on the progress to-date with antibiotic stewardship to explore how we can create further success. 

• Participants were immersed in nature activities alongside the discussions, including dawn nature walks, a nighttime bat walk detecting eight species, a farm walk with a "dung beetle safari," and marram grass planting to restore coastal sand dunes to mitigate rising sea levels with local conservation group, ReSeaclons.

• More than 100 ideas for action were developed using Vet Sustain's "Spheres of Influence" framework, spanning individual, workplace, community and societal areas. 

Key discussion points

Regenerative Agriculture: Professor Gilliland presented details of a pilot demonstrating measurable gains from multi-species swards and integrated grazing on the Devenish Lands at Dowth, Northern Ireland, including substantial increases in profitability, earthworm populations and water infiltration, alongside reductions in synthetic nitrogen use, carbon emissions and anthelmintic treatments. This part of the event agenda then went on to hear from Laurent Lemaire, Senior Manager EU Sustainable Sourcing at Royal Canin, who described their progress in partnering across the whole supply chain. They remunerate farmers participating in their programs per ton of carbon reduced or sequestered, working with Soil Capital on training and measurement as part of their Scope 3 decarbonisation, while Vet Sustain’s Chair Ed Bailey and British Cattle Veterinary Association’s Sustainability Lead, Rob Howe explored practical, farm-level approaches combining agroforestry, pasture rotation, livestock integration, integrated parasite management and reduced chemical inputs to support both biodiversity and food production.

Biodiversity & Rewilding: Vet and Wildlife Broadcaster Sean McCormack described how Ealing Wildlife Group has grown into an 8,000-strong community group that has reintroduced beavers to urban London amongst many other local rewilding wins and public engagement, earning a King's Award for Voluntary Service. Alain Moussu of Vétérinaires pour la Biodiversité spoke about vets as "defenders of life," who can play a pivotal role as a trusted, scientific voice for nature to protect the public interest. Justine Shotton of the RSPCA and Vet Sustain set out practical steps vets can take to reduce pet impacts on biodiversity through owner education, preventative health, greener animal health plans and sustainable diets.

Antibiotic Stewardship. MSD Animal Health's Alasdair King made the case for vaccination as a quietly powerful sustainability tool, protecting food security and supply chain resilience while reducing reliance on antibiotics. A panel featuring Ellie West from Mars Veterinary Health, Steve Howard from The Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance, Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA CA&E) and Ian Battersby, an experienced antimicrobial stewardship expert, chaired by VetPartners' Rachel Dean, shared a variety of successes on the practice, organisational, national alliance and European level. RUMA CA&E outlined progress in setting meaningful UK targets for the reduction of antimicrobial use in cats and dogs for the next five years.

What's next?

Anthony Chadwick, CVO and Founder of the Webinar Vet, said: “A key strength of VGDF is the breadth of expertise it brings together in one room, with voices from across veterinary practice, agriculture, sustainability, academia, industry and conservation coming together for open, constructive discussion on some of the most pressing environmental and health challenges facing the profession.”

These headlines and ideas from VGDF5 will be fed directly into the World Veterinary Environmental Alliance's fi ve global focus groups, as well as developed further by some of the event participants and national NGOs such as Vet Sustain (UK) and Eco Veto (France).

The majority of VGDF profi ts are invested in rewilding projects with Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT). £10,000 has already been donated by VGDF over the last 4 years, which has been match-funded tenfold by Veolia, to unlock over £100,000 of funding, enabling LWT to

restore 12.75 hectares of species-rich grassland and 22 hectares of wildfl ower meadow at Cutacre and Brockholes Nature Reserve in North-West England.

Building on this year’s momentum, VGDF will be returning to the UK in June 2027 for more immersive, nature-connected and diverse debate on how the veterinary sector can lead the way in Sustainability and One Health at a European level. We are also launching a US event prior to VMX in the USA in January 2027.

Register your interest via email: anthony@thewebinarvet.com for more details.

The Veterinary Green Discussion Forum is a non-profit part of the Webinar Vet. This event would not be possible without sponsorship from our partners: Mars Veterinary Health, MSD Animal Health, Carus Animal Health, Royal Canin and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

Media contact: Laura Gelder-Robertson, Sustainability Lead, The Webinar Vet laura.gelderrobertson@thewebinarvet.com.