Following on from the successful first year of its Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programme, GBGB is pleased to announce a range of CPD events which will be taking place in the first half of 2025.

Kicking off the year, on 16th January Professor Richard Payne will be delivering a webinar on ‘How Biosecurity Is Key To Your Kennel’s Health’, focusing on managing biosecurity plans to optimise greyhound health in residential kennels. Richard became involved in greyhound racing as a track veterinarian in 2004 and has since conducted various research projects involving racing greyhounds. In addition to being a scientific and veterinary advisor to GBGB’s Welfare and Veterinary Standing Committee, he also runs GBGB’s national Disease Surveillance and Monitoring Programme (DSMP).

A second webinar will take place on 27th February, led by Dr Ian Wright, a practising Veterinary Surgeon and Chair of the European Scientific Counsel for Companion Animal Parasites (ESCCAP). The session will focus on ‘Parasite Resilience’, providing an overview of parasitology as well as discussing how parasites become resistant to preventative drug treatments.

Both webinar sessions will run online and are open to all GBGB licensed personnel. Recordings of the sessions will also be made available to licence holders who are unable to attend. To register for these sessions, please email: Meriel.France@gbgb.org.uk

GBGB has also announced two workshops which will be offered to GBGB-licensed trainers and track vets respectively.

A Practical Workshop for Trainers will take place at Sheffield Stadium on 19th March, and feature sessions from Professor Richard Payne as well as from two of GBGB’s Regional Regulatory Vets – Dr Vicky Fraser and Dr Lawrence Steed. Available to all GBGB-licensed trainers and kennelhands, the sessions will cover a range of topics from greyhound physiotherapy and massage to greyhound first aid and care at their residential kennels.

Alongside this, a Track Vet Practical Training Day will take place on 21st May at the Sutton Bonington Campus of the University of Nottingham. More details about the day will be provided closer to the event.

Meriel France, Learning and Development Manager at GBGB, said:

“We are so pleased to be continuing our offer of wide-ranging CPD for licence holders across the sport this year. GBGB’s CPD programme is one of the key ways we are delivering on our long-term welfare strategy, A Good Life For Every Greyhound – enabling us to provide a wealth of the most up-to-date information and research to all those who are caring for our canine athletes.

“The sessions offered throughout 2024 were very well attended by licence holders and we hope to see many new and returning faces at this year’s informative sessions. We are so grateful to all our speakers who have offered to share their expertise with those working in our sport, and will be announcing further educational sessions throughout the rest of this year.”