Environment secretary Lesley Griffiths AM (centre) with Sir Emyr Jones Parry, chancellor of Aberystwyth University and Professor Elizabeth Treasure, vice-chancellor of Aberystwyth University.

Vet Hub 1 ‘will help tackle some of the great challenges of our time’

The Welsh government has announced plans for a £4.2m state-of-the-art veterinary facility at Aberystwyth University.

The Vet Hub 1 project has received a grant of £3m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Government. The funds will be put towards a fully equipped, high specification laboratory and office spaces.

Speaking to a packed audience at the Royal Welsh Show, environment secretary Lesley Griffiths said that the development would benefit farming in Wales and the wider world.

“This EU-backed investment will help tackle some of the great challenges of our time, food security, climate change as well as the Welsh Government and Aberystwyth University’s long term focus on supporting animal health and veterinary science,” she said.

“It will also unlock a range of opportunities over the coming years for businesses throughout the livestock supply chain, and in associated industries which will benefit from the new facility and collaborative research opportunities leading to the development of new products and services for the global market.”

Working with industry, researchers at Vet Hub 1 aim to develop vaccines and tests that will help reduce losses in the livestock industry and improve animal health. More specifically, they will be looking to develop solutions for animal borne diseases that could pass to humans.

It is also hoped the vet facility will prompt further development of veterinary practices and other animal health care, in addition to biotechnology, animal food manufacture and other allied industries.

Vice-chancellor of Aberystwyth University, professor Elizabeth Treasure, commented: “Universities have an important role to play in developing research which has an impact on the communities they serve. Vet Hub 1 will make a valuable contribution to the rural economy and to the livestock industry here in Wales and farther afield.”

“The facility also heralds another step forward in the development of Aberystwyth as a centre for veterinary expertise. Our discussions with the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) are progressing on proposals to offer a joint programme whereby veterinary science students at Aberystwyth can spend some of their time studying at the RVC and students from the RVC can come here to undertake aspects of their training, particularly large animal practice.”

Aberystwyth University has also received a further £650,000 investment from CIEL (Centre of Innovation Excellence in Livestock) for an animal science facility.

The university is one of 13 elite research institutions within the CIEL framework across the UK to provide a focused gateway to world-class research institutes. 

Image (C) Aberystwyth University