Fears over vets shortage

The South West would struggle to cope with a future outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease because there is a shortage of vets, a report says.

Most students now leaving veterinary college are women and many are choosing to work with small animals instead.

Better hours and pay are said to be part of the attraction.

The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee says if the situation worsens the South West and other rural areas would be left vulnerable when dealing with another outbreak of disease.

It calls on the government to provide incentives for students to become large animal vets.

Statistics from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in June showed that 10 years ago, half of all vet students wanted to do farm work, but that figure is now just one in 10.

The decline was largely blamed on television programmes like Animal Hospital and Vets in Practice, which feature vets working in urban areas with domestic pets.