Barbados needs more livestock veterinarians, the government’s chief vet has urged, warning that a shortage of large animal vets poses a significant threat to agriculture.
Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Trotman confirmed to Barbados TODAY concerns raised by James Paul, chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS), about the dearth of large animal practitioners and its impact on farmers.
The issue is not a lack of graduates entering the profession but their preference for the more lucrative pet practice, he said.
“There are a few veterinarians in Barbados who specialise in livestock medicine and they are very good, but they are not enough,” Trotman said. “There is a shortage of large animal veterinarians, people who are willing to specialise and or focus on large animal medicine.”
The chief veterinary officer explained that while the Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary Services provides regulatory and surveillance functions, it does not offer clinical services to treatanimals. This leaves farmers reliant on private veterinarians, of whom there are too few specialising in livestock care.
Trotman also backed Paul’s complaint that the shortage was linked to the more lucrative practice of pet care.
“The companion animal practice is a lot more lucrative than large practice,” he said. “Veterinarians in companion animal practice tend to be able to use their medical and surgical skills a lot more effectively than in large animal practice, which is obviously an economically based practice.”
As dairy farmers move to import cattle from Canada in a bid to boost flagging milk production, Paul said more large animal vets will be needed to manage the imported heifers.
“One of the big issues we have in Barbados is the shortage of large animal vets,” he said. “Many of the vets that are basically graduating from school today, a lot of them are just interested in pets. What we need in Barbados is a greater cadre of large animal vets.”
To address the issue, Trotman has suggested the BAS and the veterinary community create programmes to entice young medical students into livestock practice.
“The veterinary community needs to try to promote younger veterinary students to focus on large animal practice rather than just go into companion animal practice,” he said.
While preferring a homegrown solution, the government’s chief vet acknowledged that Barbados may need to consider bringing in practitioners from abroad to address the immediate shortages.
“They may have to go because the farmers are struggling through lack of qualified veterinary support and they need access to that skill,” he said.
He emphasised that there is no shortage of newly qualified veterinarians, with the University of the West Indies College of Veterinary Medicine producing graduates annually. The challenge, according to Trotman, lies in encouraging these graduates to specialise in large animal medicine.
“We need to find a way to make large animal medicine more attractive to students,” Trotman concluded, underlining the urgent need for action to support Barbadian agriculture. sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
