John Holt

John Holt (7 March 1931 – 24 June 2013) was an Australian veterinarian and sports shooter, who was the president of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, co-founded its Australian chapter, and represented Australia at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Biography Holt was born on 7 March 1931 in Sydney. In 1959 he purchased St George Animal Hospital, which specialised in treating pets at a time when many vets preferred working with larger animals; his business eventually expanded to six practices around Sydney and produced eight university professors. He often travelled to North America to learn about veterinary practices relating to small animals there and was a guest lecturer at institutions including the University of Guelph in Canada and the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He was the president of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association from 1986 to 1988. His brother Neville represented Australia in shooting at the 1948 London Olympics, and he and John participated together in the 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay.

He married Mary, a pharmacist, in 1960. They have both been noted patrons of animal- and biodiversity-related causes (for which Mary received a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours), along with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. He died aged 82 on 24 June 2013 in the Blue Mountains village of Mount Wilson; he was privately cremated. In 1973 he received the Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association's inaugural Practitioner of the Year Award and in 2007 the organisation gave him a special award for Meritorious Service and named its distinguished service award in his honour. In 2021, Holts' long-eared bat (Nyctophilus holtorum) was named in honour of Holt and Mary for their support of Australian biodiversity conservation.