- The number of first-year veterinary students enrolled for the 2022-23 school year at U.S. veterinary colleges exceeded 4,000 for the first time, according to data from the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges. From 2012-23, the number of first-year students at U.S. veterinary colleges increased an average of 2.7% per year, or by a total of 37.7%, from 2,938 to 4,047. At the same time, 11 new veterinary programs are in the works, seeking accreditation from the AVMA Council on Education. This may not sound like a lot, but considering there are currently a total of 33 AVMA-accredited veterinary schools in the United States, that would represent a 33% increase. To proponents of these new schools, growth in the number of new DVMs has not kept pace with U.S. population growth. Proponents of new schools say there’s huge demand for veterinary seats, though Dr. Eric Fish, in an analysis on Substack, disagrees with this assessment.
- The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on October 2-6 is hosting its third annual African Swine Fever Action Week. APHIS is encouraging U.S. swine producers, small farms and pig owners to learn about ASF and what they can do to help protect the U.S. swine herd. ASF has never been detected in the United States, but since its detection in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in 2021, the USDA has partnered with industry and states to enhance safeguards to protect U.S. swine. “The longer ASF continues to circulate around the globe, the greater the threat to the U.S. swine industry,” said Dr. Rosemary Sifford, APHIS veterinary services deputy administrator and chief veterinary officer. “If it were to become endemic, it could take us more than 10 years and about $75 billion to eradicate.”
- The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine received a $5.2 million gift from the Stanton Foundation to renovate and expand its existing Pet Health Center into a new Spectrum of Care clinic, as well as to restructure its curriculum to promote the spectrum of care approach. Veterinary students will now be trained in providing more than one approach to an animal’s diagnosis to best fit the financial needs or other preferences of the owner. The funding will help incorporate the spectrum of care philosophy across all four years of students’ veterinary training. The college will work alongside local practitioners to execute the vision, WUGA reports.