Skip to main content
The 2020 CVMA Humane Award Recipient Dr. Bettina Bobsien
27 juil., 2020
The CVMA Humane Award, sponsored by Merck Animal Health, was established in 1986 and recognizes leadership in the care and wellbeing of animals. This award is presented to a CVMA member whose work is judged to have contributed significantly to the welfare and well-being of animals. This year’s recipient, Dr. Bettina Bobsien, is a practicing veterinarian with a lifelong passion for both animal care and welfare. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, specializing in Equine Practice. Dr. Bobsien now actively focuses on animal welfare after developing a full-service equine practice on Vancouver Island. She was a member of the Canadian committee that developed the current Equine Code of Practice and worked on multiple educational projects around its implementation in Canada. Dr. Bobsien was the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Committee Chair and achieved cosmetic surgery bans on ear cropping, tail docking, and declawing procedures. She works with both the BCSPCA and Humane Canada on a variety of animal welfare issues, from shelter design and management, to policy development, and animal care concerns. Dr. Bobsien is the current CVMA Animal Welfare Committee Chair, and Co-Chair of the Equestrian Canada Health and Welfare Committee. She advocates for “unwanted” horses and horses at the end of their careers by engaging in public education on the matter and volunteers with hands-on projects including providing aid to horses and veterinarians in Cuba and providing health care and first aid courses for horse owners. Dr. Bobsien continues to practice on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, focussing on performance horses, nutrition, geriatric horse care, podiatry, and equine endocrine diseases.