PETALING JAYA: More higher education institutions should be allowed to have their own veterinarian programmes to address the country’s acute shortage of veterinarians.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Selangor chairman Christine Chin said currently those aiming to be a veterinarian can only choose between Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan for local universities.
“There are very few new veterinarians join the industry every year.
“A simple solution would be to allow more distinguished universities around the country to start their own veterinary programmes, thus increasing the growth of local veterinary talent in the industry,” she said.
She added the government should at the very least recognise the certifications of veterinary graduates from other countries.
Canine welfare project Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) director Irene Low said the shortage of veterinarians had made it harder for local veterinary clinics to run efficiently.
“There is a shortage of local veterinarians all the time as many local veterinary students are absorbed by the Department of Veterinary Services upon graduation,” she said.
She expressed hoped the government would simplify and quicken the process of hiring experienced foreign veterinarians.
Low said the frequent shortage of veterinary medicine in the country would cause prices to soar.
“Supplies of generic veterinary medicines can sometimes be hard to come by and expensive as they are not given sufficient priority in approval or procurement by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency,” she said.
Meanwhile, Chin said a shortage of veterinary medicine combined with rising prices could drastically affect efforts to spay or neuter strays.
“Veterinarians typically charge much lower compassionate prices to neuter or spay rescued animals at RM150 to RM180 for dogs and RM100 to RM140 for cats,” Chin said.
“This has become increasingly difficult for veterinarians to do as prices for medicine like anesthetic, which can cost up to RM80 to RM100 per dosage, combined with other operational costs like animal food, have increased due to inflation.”
Malaysian Small Animal Veterinary Association president Dr Amilan Sivagurunatha said additional funding for the Department of Veterinary Services is needed to deal with growing need for veterinary drug registration, licensing, public health and enforcement which had become an industry bottleneck due to the rise in pet care.
