The Philippine Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) lamented the shortage of veterinarians in the country.

In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, PVMA President Dr. Harris Constantino said there are just roughly over 14,000 registered veterinarians in the Philippines.

“Sabihin natin doon, 2,000 retired na (Let’s just say that out of those, 2,000 already retired,” Constantino said.

“Ang beterinaryo kasi ay maraming outlet o branch. Pwede sila sa corporate, pwede sila sa academe, pwede sila livestock, sa wildlife, pwede sila sa swine (Veterinarians can choose from many branches. They can be in various fields such as corporate, the academe, livestock, wildlife, or swine),” he added.

Constantino noted that with so many branches to choose from, there are fewer veterinarians in other fields.

“Sa dami ng pagpipilian na specialization ay kinukulang ang benetaryo (With so many specializations to choose from, there’s a shortage or veterinarians),” he continued.

To address the shortage, the PVMA official said they are advocating for a one species specialization.

“Maganda po itong layunin para mayroon kaming direksyon. Tulad din po [ito] ng doktor sa tao (It’s a great goal so we coupd have a direction. It’s like a docto to humans,” he added.

Constantino also said he hopes they could encourage more students to take up veterinary medicine.

“[Sana] itong taon na to at sa mga susunod na taon, mas marami kaming mahikayat na mag-aral ng beterinaryo (I hope this year and the following years, we could encourage more people to study veterinary medicine),” he added.