Lack of Veterinarians

 Got a cow that needs medical attention? What about a horse that’s hurtin’ and needs a doc? Well, chances are you’re out of luck and you may have to administer health care yourself because most vets are taking care of dogs, cats and pet turtles. I’m David Sparks and I’ll be back to explain in a minute. People in the dairy and cattle businesses are pointing out that there are not enough veterinarians who are trained in, and want to serve large animals such as horses and cattle…mostly cattle. Magic Valley .com reports that according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the state is expected to have a 5 percent shortfall in veterinarians who are qualified to work with large animals by 2016. A shortage of bovine veterinarians would create problems in the dairy industry, which generated nearly $1.4 billion in cash receipts in Idaho during 2009.

 What’s wrong with taking care of a cow? Here’s State of Idaho veterinarian Dr. Deborah Lawrence: “More than half of the vet students now are women and they want to raise a family and work part time and the small animal practices are just  more conducive to that and still make a decent living. Large animal veterinarians, you gotta’ really love what you’re doing because you’re not gonna’ get rich at it and it’s long hours, you’re working your tail off, it’s 24/7.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the USDA will repay student loans of qualified veterinarians in return for their services in areas suffering from a lack of veterinarians — calling it the first step toward addressing veterinary shortages in rural America.