Joe Brownlie and Dick Sibley respond

We read with interest the letter from Sandra Steele and colleagues, which infers the limitations of our opinion piece ( VR , 18/25 April 2020, vol 186, pp 462-463).\n\nWe sympathise with them, as it is clear that it must be difficult for some public health veterinarians in Australia and elsewhere to fully understand the situation that we are going through in the UK. We had no intention of criticising the global public health community and find the references to anti-smoking and health screening campaigns, and legislation to control hazardous products, such as asbestos remarkably irrelevant. Our references to the failures of …