Derek Armstrong, new president of the Pig Veterinary Society

Mr Armstrong qualified from Dublin in 1983 and is currently the British Pig Executive's (BPEX) adviser on veterinary matters.

He succeeds Dr Jill Thompson as president and, on taking up his new role, he thanked her for her work over 'a difficult year for the industry', marked by foot-and-mouth disease and increasing feed costs. 'It is good to see that her call for a new initiative focused on eradicating common production diseases is now being seriously taken up by the industry. This initiative will continue to be a key priority for the PVS in the coming year.'

He continued: 'The pig industry is in crisis and PVS members have a key role to play in turning things around. Vets are trusted advisers at farm level and better health to improve performance is a vital part of reducing costs of production. Farm assurance has shown us how good we are in looking after pigs, but vets must help farmers realise the opportunities to improve pig health and performance.

'Welfare remains important to consumers and the retail sector needs to recognise this by rewarding producers. The BPEX analysis of foreign imports clearly shows that there simply isn't enough pig meat produced to UK specifications in other countries to meet the volume that is imported here. PVS believes consumers who obviously value the high standards of care for British pigs would welcome a clear "welfare-of-origin" labelling system.'

Mr Armstrong is joined on the PVS officer team by Dr Jill Thompson, of the Scottish Agricultural College, as senior vice-president, Mr Peter Bown, of the George Veterinary Group in Wiltshire, as vice-president, and Mr Nigel Woolfenden, of the Bishopton Veterinary Group in North Yorkshire, as junior vice-president.