Veterinary medicine safety day
The 'Veterinary Medicine Safety Day' raises awareness of the importance of safety monitoring for veterinary medicines. This campaign takes place each year on 8 April.
VeterinaryMedicines
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) designed the 'Veterinary Medicine Safety Day' to raise awareness of the importance of pharmacovigilance, or safety monitoring, for veterinary medicines.
The #VetMedSafetyDay campaign takes place each year on 8 April across the European Union (EU).
To find out more about about EMA's work in support of animal healthcare practitioners, see:
Reporting suspected adverse events
The Veterinary medicine safety day aims to encourage reporting of suspected adverse events that occur after use of veterinary medicines.
Suspected adverse events can affect not only animals but also the humans exposed and the environment they live in. They include:
- Side effects
- Lack of efficacy
- Environmental impact
- Unexpected reactions
Key information on reporting suspected adverse events
Animal health practitioners, or veterinarians, are essential in reporting.
They are in a unique position to observe adverse events when they occur. That is why animal owners and farmers should not hesitate to report via their veterinarian.
If you have adverse events to report, contact your veterinarian and provide as much information as quickly as possible. You do not need to determine if there is a problem with the veterinary medicine before submitting your report.
By reporting suspected adverse events, animal owners, veterinarians, and farmers can ensure safer medicines and healthy animals. Every report counts.
If these reports identify new risks, regulators can take action and add new warnings to the product information of veterinary medicines.
For information on the necessary steps to report suspected adverse events, see:
2026 campaign
In 2026, Veterinary medicine safety day focuses on the lack of expected efficacy of antiparasitic products.
Antiparasitic products are veterinary medicines containing substances that repel, kill or interrupt the development of parasites like worms, fleas, ticks and mites.
They are used to treat or prevent infections / infestations or diseases caused or transmitted by parasites.
Antiparasitic resistance
Antiparasitic resistance is when an antiparasitic substance, used at the recommended dosage, no longer works against parasites.
It can occur after inappropriate or unnecessary use of antiparasitic products, or use deviating from the instructions provided in the medicine package leaflet.
Repeated use of such products for an extended period and underdosing increase the risk of antiparasitic resistance. This happens particularly when using the same class of substances.
Lack of expected efficacy
Lack of expected efficacy is when a veterinary medicine does not work as expected.
Antiparasitic resistance or other factors, such as the incorrect use of medicine, can cause lack of expected efficacy.
If antiparasitic products are not effective, this can lead to treatment failures and health risks to animals and humans.
Download campaign assets
To support our Veterinary medicine safety day campaign, selected the titles highlighted below to download and use three of our featured campaign assets:
Ensure medicines work
Signs veterinary medicines may not be working include parasites and weight loss
Read package leaflet
Package leaflets of veterinary medicines ensure their correct use
Dispose of medicines correctly
Correct disposal of unused veterinary medicines protects the environment
Additional campaign assets - an expert presentation, a poster and an image carousel - are also available below:
Previous campaigns
Select the expandable panel below to access documents related to the 2025 edition of our Veterinary medicine safety day:
Page update history
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8 April 2026
Page first published