AVIAGEN’S Anne-Marie Neeteson has been awarded the British Poultry Council’s special merit award for 2019 – postponed because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Neeteson is global vice president of welfare, sustainability and compliance at the genetics giant.
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The award was made to recognise her commitment to welfare and sustainability, with the BPC saying she had been “invaluable in progressing the science around these issues and helping the industry take a leadership role in addressing them”.
It is hoped that the BPC will be able to host an awards ceremony this year, where Ms Neeteson will formally be presented with her certificate.
Alfons Koerhuis, chief technical officer at Aviagen Group, said Ms Neeteson had a ‘passion’ for bird welfare and improved sustainability.
Improvements
“She works tirelessly, both at Aviagen and through her work with industry and welfare organisations, to implement continuous improvements that have a positive ripple effect on these causes.
“Anne-Marie is an asset to our team and to the wider poultry industry, and I congratulate her on this latest merit award.”
In 2019, Ms Neeteson led the International Poultry Council (IPC) working group that adopted five of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as areas where the global poultry meat sector can make a difference.
And again this year, as an active and longstanding member of the IPC and proponent of animal welfare, she was appointed as chair to an IPC working group on Animal Health and Welfare, Communication and Food Quality.
Working together
Mr Koerhuis added: “Through her extensive work with the IPC, the BPC and others, Anne-Marie is putting into practice Aviagen’s Top 5 Commitment of Transparency, Communication and Engagement, which corresponds with the SDGs prioritised by the IPC, in particular SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
“Essentially, members of the food supply chain must work together, sharing knowledge and experiences to further bird welfare and sustainability.”
