A short communication on page 415 of this issue of The Veterinary Record draws attention to the high suicide rate among members of the veterinary profession. In this article, Professor Richard Halliwell, who has recently chaired a series of meetings on this matter at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and Mr Brian Hoskin, chairman of the Veterinary Benevolent Fund, describe some of the support mechanisms available to veterinary surgeons and discuss what more might be done.

Contributions to the Veterinary Benevolent Fund SIR,-I continue to be amazed at, and at the same time enormously grateful to, the generosity of the members of the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS) who support the Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF) each year. The VBF has just received a cheque from the VDS for the magnificent sum of £68,448.64, and the Officers and the Board of the VBF wish to record their appreciation to all who have contributed to this donation. This will allow us to press on with our work of helping those members of our profession, and their dependants, who are in dire need of both moral and financial support. Members will be aware that the 'old' VBF has recently merged with the VetHelpline and the Veterinary Surgeons Health Support Programme (VSHSP) to form a single health care organisation for the profession under the title of the 'new' VBF. The new organisation is working well but we are increasingly aware of the task ahead of us, which will be financially challenging, to say the least. So, on behalf of all our existing and future beneficiaries, may I express my deep gratitude to the VDS members for their ongoing support for our less fortunate colleagues.

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