Dr. Navaratnam (Theeb) Partheeban is a clinical veterinarian at Westpoint Farm Vets in Chelmsford, U.K., and the co-founder of the British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society (BVEDS). In the farm animal production industry, he has worked in clinical practice, in higher education, and in both the pharmaceutical and livestock nutrition sectors. He has completed training and research all over the world, and advised the dairy industry and farmers globally. 

Partheeban specializes in treating cattle and sheep, and has experience managing the health of and maintaining a commercial calf-rearing unit and sheep flock. He most recently edited the book Developing animal feed products (2021), which details best practices for improving livestock science, nutrition and management.

As the director of the Oxford Farming Conference, Partheeban organizes a yearly international conference at Oxford University for farming and agribusiness. He also sits as a trustee in several organizations, including the Country Trust, which works to connect disadvantaged children to farming and food in the countryside.

As the co-founder of BVEDS, Partheeban leads diversity and inclusion efforts within the veterinary sciences and provides support to veterinarians of color in the U.K. Partheeban also co-founded the BIPOC working group at the Landworkers’ Alliance, a union of farmers and other land-based workers. He is part of a team that was awarded a Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant in 2020 for its landmark research on the experiences of racism in the veterinary profession. 

Partheeban received a bachelor’s of veterinary medicine and surgery from the University of Essex and a bachelor’s of science in zoology from the University of Manchester.

Courtesy of Navaratnam Partheeban

Pronouns: He/him

Expertise: Cattle, sheep, farm veterinary medicine, diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine and agriculture, farming, agribusiness, commercial farming, landworkers, livestock nutrition

Location: Chelmsford, Essex, U.K.

Email: vetsfarmuk@gmail.com 

Twitter: @navaratnampart1

Heard on Borborygmi: “32. Navaratnam Partheeban and Libby Kemkaren-Thompson”