The State Veterinary Service (SVS) was, from 1938 to 2007, an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...

of the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

(Defra), a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was the government's delivery agent, responsible for

animal health Animal Health was a UK government executive agency primarily responsible for ensuring that farmed animals in Great Britain were healthy, disease-free and well looked after. One of its key roles was to implement government policies aimed at preve ...

and

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The State Veterinary Department was set up in 1865 in response to an outbreak of

rinderpest Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic water buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, African Buffalo, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wilde ...

in London. The State Veterinary Service was established in 1938, and was overseen by the Chief Veterinary Officer. On 1 April 2007 State Veterinary Service joined with Egg Marketing Inspectorate, Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate and

Wildlife Licensing and Registration Service Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also ...

to create a new enlarged agency called

Animal Health Animal Health was a UK government executive agency primarily responsible for ensuring that farmed animals in Great Britain were healthy, disease-free and well looked after. One of its key roles was to implement government policies aimed at preve ...

References

Agricultural organisations based in the United Kingdom Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Health in Worcestershire Organisations based in Worcestershire Science and technology in Worcestershire Veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom Veterinary organizations {{veterinary-med-stub