PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia does not have enough veterinarians to cope with demand, says Veterinary Services Department (DVS) director-general Dr Akma Ngah Hamid.
Based on Veterinary Council of Malaysia registrations, there are 2,553 active veterinarians in the country, she added.
“Rapid development in the livestock industry, the increase of veterinary clinics for pets, and research (among other factors) have caused the demand for veterinary services to surge.
“As such, the country still needs more experts in the field,” she said during the department’s World Veterinary Day celebration here on Monday (June 23).
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Dr Akma added that as the country aspires to a developed nation status, both quantity and quality in the field must be improved.
She later accompanied Agriculture and Food Security Ministry deputy secretary-general (development) Datuk Badrul Hisham Mohd to present the Excellent Veterinary Award for Veterinary Education to pro-chancellor of IMU University Prof Emeritus Datin Paduka Setia Datuk Dr Aini Ideris.
Former DVS director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin received a Veterinary Services appreciation award.
Badrul Hisham said that when it comes to the veterinary field, the focus is not just on animal health but public health as a consequence as well.
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“The profession is not an easy field, and any person involved in it needs an interest in and passion for animals. Not everyone can make veterinary medicine a career,” he said in his speech at the awards.
He added that veterinarians also have a big responsibility in ensuring that the food supply is sufficient, clean and safe for human consumption.
In the food supply chain, veterinarians are frontliners in ensuring that the farm-to-table process is constantly monitored, he added.
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Badrul Hisham said the ministry, through DVS, is committed to ensuring public health via the control of zoonotic diseases and the production of clean and safe animal-based food, as well as protecting the domestic livestock industry from disease.
The first World Veterinary Day was held on April 29, 2000, to highlight the important role of veterinarians in improving animal and human welfare, food safety and animal transport and quarantine practices.
It is usually held on the last Saturday in April, but the ministry brought the date to June 23 this year.
