On 25 January 2026, the National Day of Veterinary Prevention (giornata nazionale della prevenzione veterinaria) was celebrated in Italy for the first time. The Day has been created to ‘promote the culture of veterinary prevention and strengthen the One Health approach’. The date was officially enshrined into law by senator Maria Cristina Cantù (Lega). Gaetano Penocchio, President of Italy’s veterinary statutory body FNOVI, underlined the societal value of preventive veterinary medicine, which is ‘fundamental not only for animal welfare but also for food safety, public health and environmental protection.’
‘Veterinary prevention is not seen’
On behalf of the Italian veterinary association (ANMVI), its president Marco Melosi commented: ‘Prevention is doing what is needed when it is not needed. When it works – and in Italy it does – veterinary prevention is not seen. Therefore it is up to us, official, public and private veterinarians, to communicate it.’ This year, ANMVI held an awareness campaign on the theme ‘Being a Veterinarian.’
Support against physical and verbal aggression
ANMVI hopes that this Day marks the beginning of a new era of relations between veterinarians and institutions, policy makers and legislators. But also of a new era of relations with the media, to help support the profession ‘in the development of a culture of veterinary prevention,’ Marco Melosi added. ‘We need a public opinion that is more involved in preventive actions and animal health. We need a society, including a digital one, that is more allied to help us counter physical and verbal aggression that so dramatically affect official veterinarians and private practitioners.’