Abstracts for consideration must be submitted via the dedicated Oxford Abstracts portal. The portal will be open between Monday 15 December 2025 - Friday 6 March 2026. 

Authors must ensure they follow all guidelines and rules regarding ethics and welfare when preparing their abstract, and that it follows the strict 250 word limit and structure.

The abstract must be submitted by the presenting lead/first author, do not submit an abstract on behalf of another person.

Submissions for BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026 will close on Friday 6 March 2026.

The format for your abstract should follow that for submission of a paper for publication. The purpose of the abstract is to capture the interest of the reader, while accurately reflecting the content of the intended presentation, poster or publication.

Structure

The abstract is a concise structured summary – no more than 250 words (excl. title and declarations of interest), divided under separate headings and in response to
the questions given below. It should not contain non-standard abbreviations or acronyms.

• Title - Precise and attention catching, describe what you are writing about
• Objectives - What is the question that is being asked /answered?
• Method - What is the type of study? What is the study population? How was the data analysed?
• Results - What were the findings?
• Impact/ Clinical Significance - What are the implications and for whom? Brief explanation of the impact of the work on small animal primary care or referral clinical practice.
• Funding/ Conflicts of Interest

Abstracts may be presented as short oral talks or displayed as posters. Some types of presentation, such as those that require large data tables or multiple figures, or single case reports, are more suitable for posters.

Oral Presentations:

Oral presentations are limited to 15 minutes (10-12 minutes for the talk and 3-5 minutes for questions) and follow a PowerPoint presentation shown on screen. These talks will be grouped together into themed sessions based on the topic or discipline covered. A PowerPoint template will be provided for you to prepare your presentation ahead of the live event.

Poster Presentations:

The poster must contain title, authors, affiliations, references, and details of funding and conflicts of interest, where these exist; in addition to the headings covered in the abstract. The figures, tables etc. must be presented within the dimensions given, and the poster must be written in UK English and SI units. You must bring your poster in the correct orientation and dimension (size A0 1.189m x 0.841m in portrait format) with you to the event, printed and ready to display.

Posters will be displayed alongside the Theatre in the exhibition hall throughout the two-day conference, and the main author should be available at scheduled break times to discuss their work. 

Applicants may indicate their preference to present either format during the submission process but the final decision will be with the reviewers.

Abstracts should be relevant to veterinary medicine, have scientific and/or clinical merit and be undertaken in an ethical manner consistent with the BSAVA code of ethics.

When completing the submission form, you can select the topic/discipline that your abstract content falls in. This will support us with the reviewing process and for grouping presentations together for the live event schedule.

Subject categories that best describes your submission may include:

• Anaesthesia/Critical Care
• Behaviour/Ethics and communication
• BSAVA Masters in Clinical Veterinary Research ONLY
• Canine General Practice
• Cardiology
• Clinical pathology
• Dermatology
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Endocrinology
• Exotics
• Feline General Practice
• Gastroenterology
• Haematology/Immunology
• Hepatology
• Infectious Diseases
• Neurology
• Nephrology/Urology
• Non-clinical
• Nutrition
• Oncology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopaedics
• PetSavers Student Grants
• Practice Management
• Respiratory
• Soft Tissue Surgery
• Therapeutics
• Working in Practice
• Other

We are pleased to announce we have partnered with BVA Live and we will host our BSAVA Clinical Abstract Theatre on the exhibition floor during the event, taking place 11-12 June 2026.

Oral presentations will take place within the theatre, and poster presentations will be displayed on or around the theatre for the duration of the two-day conference. Presentations will be delivered by the first/lead author only.

Those who win a BSAVA Clinical Abstract Award at the 2026 event, will also be invited to present their winning abstract again in The Studio at London Vet Show 2026.

No, there is no fee to submit a BSAVA Clinical Research Abstract. 

Authors invited to present in the BSAVA Clinical Abstract Theatre at BVA Live 2026, will receive a complimentary ticket to attend the event. Instructions for booking your complimentary ticket will be made available before the event.

Please note, only first authors who have been invited to present will be offered a complimentary ticket to attend the event; additional authors would not be offered a ticket and would need to make their own arrangements if they wish to attend the event or support the first author/presenter.

Once submission closes on 6 March 2026, our panel of reviewers will assess all abstracts received. Careful consideration will be made to ensure the abstract adheres to the submission guidelines, and the rules relating to welfare and ethics.

Abstracts should be relevant to veterinary medicine, have scientific and/or clinical merit and be undertaken in an ethical manner consistent with the BSAVA code of ethics. They should be free of clear conflict of interest e.g. those submitted by a pharmaceutical company promoting work done within their own labs without independent verification.

The review panel will also decide if the abstract is best suited as an oral or poster presentation.

The review process will be completed by mid-end April 2026, and successful first authors will be contacted and invited to present their work. Those who have been unsuccessful will also be contacted via email to advise their abstract was rejected.

Abstracts submitted for consideration should not have been presented at other veterinary conferences, nor published in journals before the live event is due to take place. They can have been shown at local CPD events.

Abstracts must be written in U.K. English and using SI units.

All research presented must comply with UK legislation pertaining to animal welfare, ethics and data protection. Work performed outside the UK must still comply with the UK Veterinary Surgeons Act or should reasonably be expected NOT to require a UK Home Office license if performed in the UK. See information on ethics below.

Use of Trade names is not permitted in the abstract.

As a rule of thumb, diagrams and references are not acceptable in the abstract.

It’s the author’s responsibility to ensure that they have obtained permission for use of any copyright images or materials.

Ethics: 

All Clinical abstracts submitted should comply with UK legislation pertaining to animal welfare, ethics and data protection.

Clinical abstracts reporting any intervention on animals will only be accepted if they would not require Home Office Licensing under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act. That is:

• Procedures carried out as part of Recognised Veterinary Practice (nonexperimental clinical practice)
• Veterinary clinical trials
• Recognised husbandry practices

Authors may find the RCVS / BVA Ethical Review Working Party Report helpful in fulfilling these requirements 

Clinical abstracts will be rejected without further scrutiny if they fail to comply with the submission rules or if they:

• Are received after the closing date.
• Do not follow the structured summary as detailed in the Submission Guidelines.
• Are considered too preliminary in nature or are deemed to be of low scientific quality.
• Are not relevant to small animal veterinary practice or clinical science.
• Do not meet the ethical guidelines outlined above and/or do not have satisfactory ethical approval from the relevant regulatory bodies or are deemed to have caused unnecessary pain, distress, suffering, or lasting harm to animals.

Yes, you can start to complete the submission form and edit or come back to it later. However once it has been submitted it is not possible to go back and edit so please be sure you are happy with your responses before submitting.

If you wish to withdraw or discuss changes to your abstract once submitted or when the portal has closed on 6 March 2026, please email us at events@bsava.com