- A new statement issued by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges outlines the organization’s perspective on the often-contentious issue of workforce shortages in the field. The profession faces “significant shortages” of veterinarians, according to the statement, with evidence indicating these shortages “are a result of systemic, long-term trends in pet ownership and demand for veterinary services, along with limited capacity for training veterinary professionals.” As many as 6,000 full-time veterinarians are needed to meet workforce demand, and 50,000 veterinary nurses and technicians are needed to maximize productivity in companion animal practice, the organization said in the statement.
- Pet medication distributor PetIQ has closed 149 veterinary practices located inside stores of partners including Walmart, Meijer and Tractor Supply Co., citing a tight labor market for veterinarians even as demand for pet care appears to ease from a pandemic peak. The closures indicate companies that have rapidly installed veterinary practices inside retail stores over the past five years may be struggling to find veterinarians to fill them, the VIN News Service reports. Petco said it has slowed the rate at which it builds veterinary practices, planning to build between five and 10 this year, down from dozens in previous years. Even so, Chewy is moving ahead on its growth plans.
- After announcing in 2014 it would no longer serve chicken that was fed antibiotics, Chick-fil-A will back off its pledge due to the diminishing chicken supply, CNN reports. The pledge was intended to help prevent human antibiotic resistance linked to the rampant use of the drugs in livestock production. Moving forward, the company will embrace a looser industry standard: “no antibiotics important to human medicine.” The change comes after Tyson, the United States’ biggest poultry company, last summer ended its eight-year-pledge to keep antibiotics out of its chicken, instead adopting a standard similar to the new one announced by Chick-Fil-A. As for other meat processors, Pilgrim’s Pride says it uses some antibiotics, while Perdue still says it doesn’t.