Richard Booth

Richard Booth is an Associate Professor in Veterinary Extension Services and Infectious Diseases of Cattle at The Royal Veterinary College's Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences. He serves as Head of the Farm Animal Health and Production Group, overseeing farm teaching for final-year rotations and collaborating with offsite partners including Synergy Farm Health, Endell Veterinary Group, and Torch Farm Vets.

Booth qualified from the University of Bristol with a Veterinary Science degree in 2005, completing an intercalated BSc in Veterinary Pathology at RVC. He earned his PhD from RVC with research on "Bovine Virus Diarrhoea Virus - A Longitudinal Farm Study Of The Health Profiles And Molecular Epidemiology Associated With Viral Control".

His research centers on Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVDV) epidemiology, control strategies, and farm animal health, with leadership roles in Sustainable Food Systems and IRLFS research programmes. Recent work examines antimicrobial usage patterns and calf health management across UK beef and dairy systems.

Publication analysis reveals a decade-long focus on BVDV diagnostics, eradication frameworks, and herd-level disease control, expanding into antimicrobial stewardship and calf mortality prevention through multi-country field studies and molecular epidemiology.

As co-investigator in VetCompass's antimicrobial usage project, Booth analyzes veterinarian and farmer decision-making factors to promote sustainable practices. He directs the Farm Animal Health and Production Group while serving externally as Director of CHeCS (Cattle Health Certification Standards) and member of the BVDFree England Technical Group, shaping national disease control policies.