Vet at Wakefield animal hospital highlights benefits of bees

Kirsty Walters from Paragon Veterinary Referrals, itself a supporter of the British Bee Veterinary Association, gave a packed talk to colleagues, including nurses, patient care assistants and vets.

Her informative session, which covered basic bee biology and life cycles among other areas, was supported by the Leeds Beekeeping Association.

Kirsty is a rotating intern at Paragon and has been beekeeping for six years, after she gained a passion for pollinators while studying for her veterinary degree in Slovakia.

Kirsty said: “I’m an active member of the Leeds Beekeeping Association, who were happy to lend their support to my talk.

“I don’t currently own any bees myself as I only moved up to Wakefield from Cornwall in January and my internship is only one year. However, my interest in bees and their importance to the environment is stronger than ever.”

Such is the significance of bees that it has been estimated that a third of the world’s food production depends on them and if they became extinct, the Earth would lose all the plants that bees usually naturally pollinate.

Paragon was recognised for its eco-friendly practices and sustainability programmes earlier in the year after it was accredited as a silver-level practice by Investors in the Environment (iiE).

iiE is a nationwide initiative that encourages firms to transform their working practices to introduce more environmentally-friendly, cleaner and more sustainable methods and systems.

The inspectors also praised Paragon for its excellent waste reduction efforts and other initiatives, including planting insect-friendly plants.

Paragon provides expert care in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery.