Press release: Winners of the Sheep Veterinary Society 2026 Agnes Winter Award

The Sheep Veterinary Society is delighted to announce the winners of the inaugural 2026 Agnes Winter Award.

Established in honour of Agnes Winter, the award is open to members of the Sheep Veterinary Society and provides financial support for projects focused on improving sheep health, welfare and efficiency.

Agnes Winter BVSc PhD DSHP DipECSRHM FRAgS FRCVS graduated from the University of Liverpool, where she was one of just six women in a class of 35 students. In 1987, she became the first female President of the Sheep Veterinary Society and was also a founding diplomate of the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management.

Agnes’s contribution to the development of sheep medicine and, indirectly, sheep welfare cannot be overstated. During her time at the University of Liverpool, she established the first sheep residency training programme for veterinary surgeons. Throughout her distinguished career, she received numerous awards in recognition of her achievements and contribution to the profession.

The winners of the inaugural 2026 Agnes Winter Award are Joseph Angell from Wern Vets and Jennifer Duncan University of Liverpool, whose successful project is entitled:

“Developing a Treatment Protocol for Cases of Watery Mouth Disease in UK Lambs”.

Their project aims to contribute to the development of an evidence-based approach to managing watery mouth disease in UK lambs.

The project will be presented at a future Sheep Veterinary Society Conference, where members will have the opportunity to hear more about the work and its findings.

Congratulations to Joseph and Jennifer on this well-deserved award!

Phillipa Page, Senior Vice President said

“The executive committee were delighted to receive four very worthy projects for this inaugural award in memory of Agnes Winter. We were delighted to announce the winners of this award at the SVS meeting in Kilkenny alongside Agnes’s sister Ruth Grant. I am certain that Agnes would be delighted with both the commencement of a research award in her name and with the proposed project, awarded as the first recipient.
We encourage many more sheep vets to submit project proposals in the future for this distinguished award in memory of Agnes who was respected and loved by all”.

Image of Phillipa Page and Agnes Winter at the 2025 Autumn Conference in Wales