U.S. facing vet shortage

WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A veterinarian shortage in the United States is expected to raise concerns about the threat of animal-borne diseases such as avian flu and mad cow disease.

To resolve the problem, the American Veterinary Medical Association and Congress plan to bring more vets into the public health sector, the Washington Times reports.

"Veterinarians play a key role in protecting the health of our nation," said Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who is sponsoring a bill to introduce more vets into bio-terrorism and emergency preparedness, environmental health, food safety, and biomedical research.

The bipartisan measure would provide $1.5 billion during the next decade to expand the size of American veterinary schools and increase expertise in public health and biomedical research, the Times reported.

Figures show of the 64,000 board-certified veterinarians, only 1,500 were in public health practice and 50 percent of them face retirement.

Experts say fewer veterinarians are going into public health than before because of rising demand in private practice.