New Chief Vet appointed for Jersey

Friday 03 February 2023

A former Scottish government vet has been appointed as Jersey’s new chief veterinary officer.

Susana Ramos, who previously worked for the Scottish government as the veterinary lead with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, will take over from Alistair Breed, who stepped down last summer.

Deputy chief vet Dr Caroline Terburgh has been covering the role in the interim.

During her time in Scotland, Ms Ramos worked in areas including disease response and preparedness, trade and veterinary public health, as well as animal welfare.

She said she was "delighted to take up the opportunity to live and work in Jersey", and added: "I look forward to working with all Islanders in safeguarding animal health and welfare, and supporting the farm and food industry here."

Willie Peggie, Director of the Natural Environment Department, said: "Susana has previously provided strategic veterinary leadership to field teams and managers across Scotland and held responsibility for high-level veterinary decisions, policy advising and implementation there.

"She has experience of a number of the issues that we’ve also been dealing with in Jersey, such as the importation of Ukrainian pets, the response to bird-flu outbreaks and post-Brexit border controls.

"I’d like to thank Caroline Terburgh who, in recent months, has led our small veterinary team through the challenges associated with bird flu and the high-profile death of over 100 dairy cows at a local farm."