Wanted: Large animal vets

Usually you'll hear more about veterinary news from Dana or Laurel. I go all over the web looking for news about pets, celebrities and their pets, and the like. But, I came across an interesting news piece about large animal veterinarians recently that I thought I'd share!

It seems that veterinary medicine is lacking in veterinarians who specialize in large animals. One state, Kentucky, is taking steps to make sure they have enough veterinarians taking care of their large and food animals. The Kentucky Large/Food Animal Incentive Program offers the possibility of repaying up to $6000 a year of outstanding student loans of eligible veterinarians, vet technicians and veterinary technologists who practice mostly large/food animal medicine.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said, "This program is important to Kentucky's animal agriculture industry and our food supply. Veterinarians are leaving large animal practices faster than they can be replaced." Commissioner Farmer goes on to say that livestock account for a huge portion of the state's economy and it is important to be sure they have enough veterinarians to care for the animals.

Now, I am not a "farm" girl, but I do know the importance of having veterinary care specialized for large animals. I lived in an apartment on a farm for about 10 years. While I didn't have to care for the animals, I was always aware of what was happening with them. (I really loved having the animals around. It was mainly pygmy goats and horses. Pictured on the left is one of the pygmy babies. He came with me to visit at CSU when I worked there!) There were several times when an emergency vet had to be called. It was so great to know that there was a great veterinarian on call who specialized in large animal medicine. We also lived close to CSU and my friend/landlord had to take horses there on more than one occasion.

I like hearing that states are making programs like Kentucky's to give incentive for specializing in large animal medicine. Do you know if your state has any similar programs?

--Tammy

Comments

[Chris]

I just couldn't pass up "Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer", sounds like he has the perfect name for the job.

This is simple economics at work, for the most part large animals are commodities with a specific value, the owners usually won't spend more than that value on their treatment. Companion animals have an emotional value that is often pretty high when translated to dollars. So veterinarians are apt to choose to treat companion animals because it is more lucrative.