View source for Veterinary Laboratories Agency

{{Short description|UK animal health laboratory and former executive agency}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The '''Veterinary Laboratories Agency''' (VLA) was an [[executive agency]] of the [[UK government]]'s [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] (DEFRA). It carried out animal disease surveillance, diagnostic services and [[veterinary]] scientific research for government and commercial organisations. It was based in [[New Haw]], though had offices and laboratories around the country, such as in [[Sutton Bonington]].

It was both an [[International Reference Laboratory]] and the [[EU Community Reference Laboratory]] for [[avian influenza]].

==History==
1894 – The Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) is established in a small basement room in Whitehall, London to deal with a swine fever epidemic.<br />
1917 – The Laboratory moves to its current location in Weybridge. 
The site is still known as Weybridge today, although the postal address is now Addlestone.<ref>
{{Citation
 | title = History of VLA
 | url = http://www.defra.gov.uk/vla/vla/vla_history.htm
 | access-date = 2010-12-19
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110114092210/http://www.defra.gov.uk/vla/vla/vla_history.htm
 | archive-date = 2011-01-14
 | url-status = dead
 }}
</ref>

==Merger with Animal Health==
On 29 June 2010 DEFRA announced that the VLA would be merged with [[Animal Health]].<ref>
{{Citation
 | title = Announcement of Animal Health and VLA merger on DEFRA website
 | url = http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth/news/290610-merger-of-animal-health-and-vla.html
 | access-date = 2010-12-19
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101205153142/http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth/news/290610-merger-of-animal-health-and-vla.html
 | archive-date = 2010-12-05
 | url-status = dead
 }}
</ref> The merger was completed on 1 April 2011, forming the [[Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla/about-us/ |title= About us |publisher= Defra |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120419111138/http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla/about-us/ |archive-date= 2012-04-19 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.vla.gov.uk Veterinary Laboratories Agency]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060514045725/http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/vla/science/science-viral-ai-reflab.htm Avian Influenza - Reference Laboratory]

{{Defra (United Kingdom)}}
{{Agriculture in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Agricultural organisations based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Surrey]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1995]]
[[Category:Government agencies disestablished in 2010]]
[[Category:Science and technology in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom]]


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