Andrew Higgins (veterinarian)

Andrew James Higgins
CitizenshipBritish
OccupationEditor-in-chief
Era1991-2016
OrganizationThe Veterinary Journal
Honours

Andrew Higgins PhD[1] is a British veterinarian and scientist.

Early life

Higgins was born 7 December 1948 in Leeds; his grandfather was former Chief Veterinary Officer Sir John Kelland.

Career

He graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1973 and was commissioned in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps where he served in Northern Ireland and with the British Army Training Team in the Dhofar Rebellion in Oman. He wrote an account of his experiences titled With the SAS and Other Animals (2011).[5]

His military service in Oman led to his appointment as Veterinary Officer for HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said.[1]

He then took an MSc in Tropical Animal Health and Production at the Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine in the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, which led to his appointment as Technical Advisor in the Middle East and North Africa, for The Wellcome Foundation.[1]

He published several papers on camel diseases and edited The Camel in Health and Disease 1985.[6][7]

He was editor-in-chief of The Veterinary Journal from 1991 to 2015.[1][8][9] The Andrew Higgins Prize, originally established as the Junior Scientist Prize in 1992, was renamed in 2016 to honour Higgins, the former editor-in-chief of The Veterinary Journal. It is awarded annually to the most commendable paper authored by a graduate within five years of obtaining their first degree.[10]

He was also the scientific director and chief executive of the Animal Health Trust.[11] Following the closure of the institute in 2022, he raised funds to purchase the library and other historical records, which were relocated to the Harper Keele Veterinary School, and the institute's archives were transferred to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.[11][9]

In 1998 he was appointed to the government’s Advisory Group on Quarantine and Rabies that put forward radical and sweeping changes to the UK's quarantine laws.[12][13][14]

He was Honorary Scientific Adviser to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) from 1990 to 2010 and chaired the Medication Advisory Group. In 2009, Higgins chaired the Independent Anti-Doping and Medication Control Review for the Greyhound Board of Great Britain.[15][16]

In 2015 Pen and Sword Books published Higgins' "With the SAS and Other Animals".[5]

He is a fellow of Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons an honour bestowed upon him in 2020 for his contributions to the veterinary profession.[17][18]

Other selected works

  • The Camel in Health and Disease 1986. A.J. Higgins. Baillière Tindall, London.[7][6]
  • The Equine Manual [1995; 2006] A.J. Higgins, J.R. Snyder. Elsevier, London.[19][20]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Andrew James Higgins". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  2. ^ a b "Dr Andrew Higgins RCVS Profile". Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  3. ^ "RVC Team wins Major Award". Veterinary Record. 119: 138. 1986-02-08.
  4. ^ "The Ciba-Geigy Price for Research in Animal Health Special Supplement". Veterinary Record. 120: 513–536. 1987-05-30.
  5. ^ a b "With the SAS and Other Animals : a Vet's Experiences During the Dhofar War 1974". WorldCat. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  6. ^ a b Higgins, A. J. (1984-09-01). "The camel in health and disease. Introduction". The Veterinary Journal. 140 (5): 482–4. PMID 6487998 – via PubMed.
  7. ^ a b "The Camel in health and disease". WorldCat. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  8. ^ "The Veterinary Journal Editorial Board". ScienceDirect. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  9. ^ a b "The Princess Royal opens new Veterinary Education Centre at Harper Adams University". Shropshire Live. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  10. ^ Lister, Annette (2021-04-08). "Editorial update and 2020 George Fleming Prizewinner". The Veterinary Journal. 272. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2021.105673. PMC 8740899. PMID 33941327.
  11. ^ a b "Animal Health Trust Library donated to Harper & Keele Veterinary School". Keele University. 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  12. ^ "Quaratine Pets". Defra. Archived from the original on 2008-07-27.
  13. ^ Quarantine and Rabies: A Reappraisal. Report by the Advisory Group on Quarantine (Report). UK Government National Archives: MAFF Publications PB3986. 1998-01-01.
  14. ^ "Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, Press Release 376/98" (Press release). Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. 1998-09-23.
  15. ^ "Greyhound Board of Great Britain Annual Report and accounts 2016" (PDF). Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  16. ^ "REPORT of the INDEPENDENT ANTI-DOPING AND MEDICATION CONTROL REVIEW" (PDF).
  17. ^ "Dr Andrew Higgins". Animals in War Memorial. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  18. ^ "Fellows Directory - Andrew Higgins". Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
  19. ^ "The equine manual". WorldCat. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  20. ^ "Veterinary Library Database". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2024-10-17.