My former colleague Howard Rees, who has died aged 89, was the chief veterinary officer who dealt with the problem of salmonella in eggs in the 1980s and introduced the measures that eventually saw off the problem of BSE in cattle. He was widely regarded as the most able veterinary public servant of his generation.
On retirement in 1988 he became president of the World Organisation for Animal Health’s animal health code commission in Paris and under his presidency the commission drafted complex and contentious guidelines that dealt with the international trade in livestock in the context of BSE. He held the post for nine years and was awarded the organisation’s gold medal in 1994.
Howard was born and grew up in Llanelli, the son of Walter and Margaret Rees, and attended the grammar school there before going on to the Royal Veterinary College in London. He qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1951. After a short period in general practice he joined the state veterinary service, which, he said, gave him more time to play rugby. On his posting in Stafford he played for the club there, the county and the West Midlands.
He soon gained valuable experience of disease problems in the livestock industry. This was a time when infectious diseases such as swine fever, bovine brucellosis and tuberculosis had not yet been brought under control.
He was posted to the service’s headquarters at Tolworth, London, in 1973 and became chief veterinary officer in 1980. His most notable early achievement was to lead the team that completed the eradication of brucellosis, a disease that was widespread in cattle herds. As CVO he had to deal with the problem of salmonella in eggs and, shortly before he retired, the emerging and potentially catastrophic problem of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). It was on his watch that the government rapidly introduced the ruminant feed ban, which eventually led to the virtual elimination of the disease.
One of Howard’s strengths was that he had what the Welsh call “dawn”, the gift of foresight. This enabled him to identify potential problems before they became apparent to others. But he also had an able and practical intellect that meant his judgment was trusted by colleagues and by ministers on potential but often difficult courses of action.
When he eventually retired, he and his wife, Mollie, moved to Pennard on the Gower coast. He is survived by Mollie (nee Collins), whom he married in 1952, and by their four children, 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
