Concern at shortage of farm vets
PUBLISHED: 10:16 23 March 2008 | UPDATED: 08:23 28 March 2014
MARCH 23, 2008: An increasing shortage of farm vets means Britain would struggle to cope with a future foot-and-mouth outbreak.
Most students now leaving veterinary college are women and many are choosing to work with small animals instead. Better hours and pay are said to be part of the attraction.
The decline has been blamed in part on television programmes like Vets in Practice.
A committee of MPs says if the situation worsens rural areas would be left vulnerable when dealing with another outbreak of the disease.
The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee has called on the government to provide incentives for students to become large animal vets.
Statistics from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in June showed that 10 years ago, half of all vet students wanted to do farm work, but that figure is now just one in 10.