The Joint Meeting of Veterinary Science in East Asia is an academic seminar which is held in turn by annually Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The 3rd gathering of the seminar was originally scheduled for May 1, 2020, but due complications related to the epidemic, it was delayed by three years. On May 1-2, 2023, the seminar finally convened in physical format at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) Library and Conference Hall. The symposium addressed eight themes including: 1. Poultry Influenza Virus; 2. Swine Fever and African Swine Fever; 3. Animal vaccines and preparations; 4. Ranch animal resistance issues; 5. Wildlife conservation medicine; 6. Companion animal medicine; 7. Animal Coronavirus infection; 8. Other veterinary fields. These eight major themes were derived from issues that animal medicine practitioners around the world are currently attaching great importance to.
In his speech at the event, NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang said “it is a great pleasure to bring together scholars and friends from Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Norway for this event. Through this seminar, experts and scholars from around world are gathered to help find solutions to problems related to the diseases that people and animals are facing in these modern times.”
Shih-Chu Chen, who is Chairman of the Chinese Society of Veterinary Sciences and Professor of the NPUST Department of Veterinary Medicine, said: “the professional field of veterinary medicine covers animal health management and zoonotic infectious diseases. Taking the new coronavirus as an example, it is the largest case of human-animal infection in contemporary times resulting in a pandemic. This symposium is mainly about Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea coming together to brainstorm and focus on issues related to the protection of the health of humans and animals together.”
World Veterinary Association Congress Member Chin-Cheng Chou said “the Chinese Society of Veterinary Science, the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science, and the Korean Society of Veterinary Science
have formed a federation focused on academic exchange. And last week, for the first time since its founding 100 years ago, the World Veterinary Association Congress was held in Taipei—showing that Taiwan’s veterinary profession is attracting great attention internationally, especially with respect to its current focus on animal welfare, ‘one health’, veterinary education, animal medicine and other important issues. And now we are jointly issuing a declaration, together with the world, to promote issues such as animal health, human cooperation, and environmental co-prosperity, so as to achieve sustainable development for the future”.
Six keynote speeches and several thematic lectures were scheduled for the seminar and more than 200 participants from home and abroad gathered for the event. The participants from NPUST included professors Shih-Chu Chen, Yi-Yang Lien, Chao-Nan Lin, Yi-Lun Tsai, Ming-Tang Chiou and assistant professor Ming-An Tsai. These were joined by other scholars in Taiwan from the Animal Health Research Institute, Agricultural Science Research Institute, Taiwan University, Chung Hsing University, Chiayi University and other research institutes. Additionally, 75 scholars or students from the United States, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and other countries participated in the ‘academic feast’. NPUST’s Yi-Lun Tsai represented Taiwan to deliver a lecture on Taiwan’s current situation in companion animal transfusion medicine, including concepts and experiences related to animal welfare during blood-donation processes. In addition to the thematic lectures, another highlight of the gathering was the oral thesis report competition and the poster thesis report competition for the students participating from various countries. A total of 36 oral thesis reports and 73 poster thesis reports were submitted for presentation in the English language.
As the Chairman of the Chinese Society of Veterinary Sciences and Professor of the NPUST Department of Veterinary Medicine, Shih-Chu Chen was unanimously selected at the Second Joint Meeting of Veterinary Science in East Asia, held in 2019, to serve as host of the Third Joint Meeting, which took place this year. The goal of the symposium was to enhance the academic exchange of veterinary medicine in the three East Asian countries and encourage international cooperation among teachers. The academic symposium also gave domestic students and new teachers an opportunity to learn, discuss, and share information related to international animal epidemics.
