The Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) of the European Commission in collaboration with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) have announced the five winners of photo contest "The vets in your daily life".

The five winners, Somenath Mukhopadhyay (Asia Pacific), Ariel Alejandro Corvalan Herrera (America), István Konyhás (Europe), Molly Feltner (Africa) and Genevieve Kriechbaum (Middle East), obtained professional photographic equipment €1000 and travel and accommodation to the prize-giving ceremony in Brussels and Paris, where it will present the award during the conference of the EU Veterinary Week, held on 19 and 20 May 2011 in Brussels, Belgium. Also elect one winning image among the five finalists, which will be announced at the 79th OIE General Session on May 22, in Paris, France. In this occasion, the prize will be €2000 in additional photographic material.

This initiative is part of the events organized within the framework of the 2011 World Veterinary Year, which aims to promote and highlight the crucial role that veterinarians perform in daily life of each. The 2011 World Veterinary Year wants to promote the veterinary profession, the role of vets in society, and from “farm to fork”.

The criteria for selecting the winners have been:

• Interpretation and visualisation of the theme "Vets in your daily life"
• Creativity. Technical aspects including editing will be considered as added value where their use helps to express the photographer's ideas or to enhance the value of the content of the images
• Coherence, artistic quality and personal style of the photographer
• Photo composition and clarity of presentation
• Appeal of the visual motif
• Ability to catch the viewer’s interest

Vets play a crucial role in society, and by using photos to capture the different aspects of the work of vets, and by placing information and links on the website, people will be better informed and have greater awareness of the role that vets play.