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FOI release

FOI2026/00266 – VMD financial interest with Zoetis

Published 22 May 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vmd-foieir-requests-february-2026/foi202600266-vmd-financial-interest-with-zoetis

Your request

Please provide the following information in relation to Zoetis Inc. and its subsidiaries, insofar as they relate to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD):

  1. Whether the VMD currently employs, or has employed within the last five years, any staff members who have: - held shares, stock options, or any other financial interests in Zoetis Inc.; - received gifts, hospitality, travel, accommodation, holidays, or other benefits in kind funded or provided directly or indirectly by Zoetis Inc.; - received financial payments, honoraria, consultancy fees, sponsorship, research funding, or financial awards (including merit-based or discretionary payments) from Zoetis Inc.

  2. Whether the VMD requires staff to declare:
    • financial interests, gifts, hospitality, or other benefits received by immediate family members (including spouses, partners, or dependent relatives); and
    • if so, whether any such declared interests or benefits relate to Zoetis Inc.

  3. The number of declarations (anonymised and aggregated) made in the last five years that relate to Zoetis Inc., including the category of interest or benefit declared.

  4. Copies of the VMD’s current policies and guidance governing:
    • declarations of interests;
    • gifts and hospitality;
    • conflicts of interest; and
    • the management of relationships with pharmaceutical or veterinary medicines companies.

I am not seeking any personal data that would identify individual members of staff. Aggregated or suitably anonymised information will be sufficient.

Our reply

As a regulatory authority, the VMD abide by the Regulators Code and staff by the Civil Service’s core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

We do require staff to declare interests received by immediate family members. Declarations of interest are used to determine the constraints placed on individuals in conducting our regulatory functions. We confirm that no individual where a declaration exists was permitted to work on products, or be involved in discussions, related to their conflict of interest, and in certain areas this extends to 5 years after the conflict ceases.

The VMD has one employee whose spouse once worked for and held shares in Zoetis. This declaration is no longer current.

Year Declarations
2025/2026 1 staff (now ex-staff) held investment fund shares that included Zoetis.
2024/2025 1 staff relation worked for Zoetis and held shares. 1 staff (now ex-staff) worked for Zoetis, held shares, and pension.
2023/2024 1 staff relation worked for Zoetis and held shares. 1 staff (now ex-staff) worked for Zoetis Australia.
2022/2023 1 staff relation worked for Zoetis and held shares.
2021/2022 1 staff (now ex-staff) worked for Zoetis Australia.

Attached are the VMD’s current policies and guidance governing declarations of interests and gifts and hospitality.

Year Gifts and hospitality
2025/2026 none
2024/2025 During an inspection in China 1 staff received: Lunch valued at approximately £10, Dinner valued at approximately £20, A scarf valued at approximately £10
2023/2024 none
2022/2023 none
2021/2022 none

These were recorded in accordance with VMD’s policies on gifts and hospitality.

No other gifts, funding, or resources have been provided by Zoetis to the VMD during this period.

Current policies and guidance governing declarations of interest and gifts and hospitality

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