World Association for Buiatrics (WAB)

World Association for Buiatrics (WAB)

WAB Mission Statement:
To promote goodwill and knowledge transfer within the international veterinary community by exchanging and discussing scientific, cultural and personal experiences within the framework of the World Association for Buiatrics.

Origin:
Founded at the 2nd International Congress on Cattle Diseases in Vienna (Austria) in May 17, 1962, the preliminary meeting was held in Hannover (Germany) in October 6-10, 1960.

Aims:
• To organise meetings on diseases and production in cattle (buiatrics) in order to report and discuss the results of research work and other practical experiences associated with buiatrics.
• To discuss these topics in an international forum and thus promote all aspects of buiatrics in both science and practice
• Even though the emphasis is on buiatrics, small ruminants and other "non-domestic" ruminant species (such as zoo and exotic animal species) are also considered as species of interest to the association
• To provide an organization for qualified individuals who dedicate a significant part of their professional activities to research, educational or clinical aspects of buiatrics to exchange ideas.
• To issue, in compliance with the pertinent regulations, occasional or regular publications (circulars, conference proceedings, reminders, periodicals, newsletters) including materials on the topics outlined above.
• To promote international research on ruminant animals and to keep veterinary practitioners and all interested agricultural specialists informed about the results reported around the world.

Establishment of affiliation:
Any Buiatrics or Veterinary Association wishing to join the WAB should submit their applications to the Secretary General of the WAB. Such applications will be considered for eligibility for membership by the Executive Committee and the General Assembly of the WAB held at the time of the biennial buiatrics congresses. Decisions will be made by majority vote. The membership of national buiatrics associations must be predominantly veterinarians.

Affiliated members of the WAB
• All Buiatrics or Veterinary Associations who have a bona fide structure within their country or region are eligible to become affiliated members of the WAB.
• Membership of the WAB will be through membership of National Buiatrics Associations. All national associations accepted by the General Assembly of the WAB will be deemed to be affiliated members of the WAB.
• National Buiatrics Associations which have been accepted as affiliated members of the WAB at the time these statutes are adopted shall be deemed affiliated members of the WAB.
• Where no National Buiatrics Association exists, veterinarians or scientists working with cattle may apply for observer membership. Applications must be made to the Secretary General and will be decided by the Executive Committee. National Buiatrics Associations will appoint one to three representatives or correspondents whose responsibility will be to liaise with the WAB Secretary General, reporting on their national activities and relevant events and to be the national contacts for the Secretary General. Each member association will have one vote at the General Assembly that is held at the biennial congress. The spokesperson for the affiliated member organisation should be one of the contact people registered with the secretary general or another person nominated by the respective organisation and recognised by the executive committee.
• The National Associations for Buiatrics should keep the WAB Secretary informed about the activities and other relevant events in their associations in order to enable the WAB Secretariat to maintain an up-to-date flow of information to all WAB members.

Affiliated National Associations

• Europe:
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldavia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

• America:
Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, USA, Uruguay.

• Africa:
Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia

• Asia and Oceania:
Australia, China, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Korea Republic, Malaysia, New Zealand.

Associate members
Sociedad Latinoamericana de Buiatria, Euro Arabian Veterinary Association, Union of Arabian Veterinarians, Federation of Asian Veterinary Associations.

Congress Languages:
English, French, German, Spanish.

Staff:
Voluntary

Finance:
Congress fee and sponsoring.

Events:
Biennial "World Buiatrics Congress": Hannover (Germany) 1960, Vienna (Austria) 1962, Copenhagen (Denmark) 1964, Zurich (Switzerland) 1966, Opatija (Yugoslavia) 1968, London, 1970, Philadelphia PA (USA) 1972, Milan (Italy) 1974, Paris (France) 1976, Mexico City (Mexico) 1978, Tel Aviv (Israel) 1980, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) 1982, Durban (South Africa) 1984, Dublin (Ireland) 1986, Palma de Mallorca (Spain) 1988, San Salvador da Bahia (Brazil) 1990, St Paul MN (USA) 1992, Bologna (Italy) 1994, Edinburgh (UK) 1996, Sydney (Australia) 1998, Punta del Este (Uruguay) 2000, Hannover (Germany) 2002, Quebec (Canada) 2004, Nice (France) 2006, Budapest (Hungary) 2008, Santiago (Chile) 2010, Lisbon (Portugal) 2012, Cairns (Australia) 2014.

Average attendance:
about 1500-2500 delegates and 150-300 accompanying persons
Average duration: 4 to 5 days

General organisation:
Opening ceremony, invited state-of-the-art presentations, free oral presentations, poster and video sessions, satellite symposia, workshops, practical tips, commercial exhibitions, award ceremonies, social programmes, general assembly

Publications:
Congress proceedings (about 1000 pages) and a CD-ROM are available from the organising committee of each congress. The official journal of the association is "The Bovine Practitioner".

Bodies of the WAB
• The WAB is administered by the Executive Committee consisting of 10 - 20 members elected from the contact persons endorsed from the Buiatrics associations affiliated to the WAB.
• The members of the Executive Committee should be representative of all of the affiliated Buiatrics organisations. They should also be broadly representative of the different regions of the world (Europe, North, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania).
• The Executive Committee is elected every 4 years by the General Assembly, which is convened on the occasion of the biennial scientific meeting. Re-election is possible. Following the election, the Executive Committee will elect one president, two vice-presidents and one secretary general from its membership; all the other deputies will be "members of the Executive Committee".
• A member of the Executive Committee whose position is declared vacant can stand for re-election at the general assembly.
• The Congress organisers shall become observer members of the Executive Committee.
• The administrative bodies of the WAB are the General Assembly, the Executive Committee, the Auditing Committee, and other committees.

Executive Committee
Consisting of 1 President, 2 Vice-presidents, 1 Secretary General, 1 Treasurer and 12 Committee members from different countries and 1 Observer.