Vet shortage as they quit over trauma of culling animals

A shortage of vets is putting the UK at risk of a foot and mouth disease outbreak, a report claims Credit: Phynart Studio/iStockphoto

Patrick Galbraith

Vets are quitting their jobs because of mental health issues linked to putting animals down, MPs have said.

In a new report, the Public Accounts Committee said a shortage of vets was putting the country at risk of a serious outbreak of animal disease, such as bird flu or foot and mouth.

A key issue is the struggle to retain vets at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which deals with disease outbreaks. The agency had 100 fewer vets than it needed at the end of last year, or a shortfall of a quarter.

The report said mental health problems were a “major issue” in the struggle to recruit and retain staff, often linked to “activities such as culling animals”.

As well as mental health issues, pay, working conditions and long hours were also blamed for the staffing crisis in the sector.

Zoetis, the animal pharmaceuticals giant, found earlier this year that 48pc of vets in the UK working with farm animals said they had a desire to leave the sector.

The shortage of qualified vets meant there was a risk that diseases were not identified early when they could be contained, MPs warned. The committee also warned there was a disproportionate focus on dealing with current outbreaks rather than preparing for the future.

The committee called on the Government to devise a veterinary workforce strategy to bolster recruitment and retention.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the committee, said: “The bill for the major foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001 ran into multiple billions for the public and private sector.

“Serious animal disease outbreaks pose a severe threat to wildlife and the farming sector, and in the case of zoonotic diseases, to human health. Our latest report should therefore be of the deepest concern to all of us.”

Among the recommendations is the suggestion that the Government should commit to updating the Veterinary Surgeons Act to enable other professionals, such as veterinary nurses, to undertake work usually restricted to qualified vets.

Richard Parr, an adviser at the Good Food Institute, which works to enhance preparations for animal disease outbreaks, said: “The Government must urgently scale up capacity for surveillance and vaccination, to protect animals and the public from the menace of infectious diseases.”

Over a quarter of local authorities are currently not confident in their ability to adequately carry out necessary actions in the event of an outbreak of mass animal disease, such as disposing of animal carcasses and notifying the public.

The report also examined the issue of illegally imported meat. The committee found that border controls to prevent a new disease arriving in the UK were insufficient.