Veterinarians are leaving the country or going into private practice for financial reasons, putting local government veterinarians under added pressure. (Getty Images)
SSouth Africa is facing a shortage of veterinarians as they leave the country in search of better prospects, leaving those who remain struggling to fill the gap.
Most of the spills have occurred in rural areas, compromising livestock care.
South African Veterinary Association president Paul van der Merwe said veterinary turnover was on the rise, with more than 100 veterinarians emigrating every year.
He said the international standard is 200-400 veterinarians per million people, but South Africa has just 60 per million. Furthermore, the veterinary association frequently receives reports of veterinary clinics in rural areas closing down due to financial reasons and lack of staff.
“Due to a shortage of rural veterinarians, the health and welfare of production animals can no longer be guaranteed, with direct implications for food safety and security and, in turn, human health and well-being,” van der Merwe said.
“Furthermore, disease control and biosecurity are suboptimal and flaws in the system have led to outbreaks of diseases such as foot and mouth disease, African swine fever and avian influenza, which can spill over into humans, as we have seen with COVID-19.”
A 2022 survey by the Veterinary Medical Association found that the majority of veterinarians eligible to leave the country were under the age of 25. 21% of those aged 25-29 said they had already started the process of relocating, and 38% were almost certain they would relocate, even if for a limited period of time. Only 41% said they intended to remain in South Africa.
Reasons for the exodus include safety, security, economic concerns, career growth, working conditions and regulations on veterinary services.
Van der Merwe said this was happening despite “huge” interest in the sector.
“Veterinary schools receive far more applications than they can accommodate, and the selection process is very rigorous. Unfortunately, the selection process does not guarantee that more veterinarians will want to work in rural areas,” he said.
Of concern is that only 60 percent of the state's veterinary jobs are filled.
Todd Collins, a veterinarian for more than 50 years who works with cattle and other large animals in KwaZulu-Natal, said veterinarian retirements were a worrying trend.
“We are currently struggling in South Africa to match the financial offers they get from overseas. They are much more strict in terms of working hours and the physical stress of the job seems to be much less than for South African veterans. For younger veterans, the remuneration package is very attractive to go there to repay their student loans,” he said.
“Veterans across the country are being given less work, and their jobs are becoming even tougher because they are being given the workload that should be filled by many more veterans.”
Collins said this has also led to some positions being filled by less skilled personnel.
The mandatory community service programme sees 140 veterinarians being recruited every January. “Some of the veterinarians will be absorbed into the sector, while others will choose to go abroad,” said Dipepeneng Seraj, deputy director-general for agricultural production, biosecurity and natural resource management at the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform.
“Our concern is that most of the newly eligible veterans will be absorbed by the private sector or other countries. There is certainly a shortage, but it's not a critical situation,” he said.
“What is important is that farmers have access to veterinary services at the moment. Farmers who farm cooperatively get services from provincial veterinarians. We have managed so far, even though labour shortages have put some strain on the current workforce. There are plans to set up another university that will offer this qualification. At the moment, only the University of Pretoria offers it.”
Rural veterinarians earn less than their urban counterparts and many have started trading medicines and veterinary products with farmers to supplement their income, but this is not sustainable and could lead to more people leaving the industry, Collins said.