Leading UK holistic veterinary surgeon Nick Thompson, MRCVS and advisor to Verm-X, was invited to the UK’s Animal Health Distributors Conference (AHDA) an association financed and dominated by pharmaceutical global giants — Nick compares the use of herbs with the use of chemicals for treating animals — his controversial talk was greeted with unexpected warmth from the industry as his arguments and points about the effectiveness and use of herbs alongside some pharmaceuticals were made with full scientific evidence. This is the first time an holistic speaker has been allowed to take part at this conference, the world leaders in natural internal parasite control Verm-X, pushed for the slot to get heard — the question is will the association allow a similar talk or will the pharmaceutical companies want to protect their pitch. A winner for the world of natural medicine.