Dirk Pfeiffer is a Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology in the Department of Production and Population Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College, among other posts, and has extensive experience in animal disease surveillance.

The Board will advise on the best use of Defra and Welsh Government funding for animal health surveillance, to retain the confidence of animal keeping sectors and enable government to meet national and international obligations.

It is a partnership board between government and industry and has been established as part of changes that APHA is making to its veterinary scanning surveillance system.

Commenting on his appointment, Professor Pfeiffer says: “I am delighted to take on this role during a time when animal health surveillance in England and Wales is going through a period of significant change.

"The aim of this redesign is to increase the utility of surveillance information to stakeholders whilst ensuring value for money”.

Four other members, comprising vets and farmers, and two ‘ex officio’ members have also been appointed to the board.