A bonus should be given to public veterinarians who do not open private practices to address an extreme shortage of public vets, President William Lai (賴清德) said today.
Lai made the statement at the 53rd Veterinarians Day and Classical Swine Fever Prevention Conference, which took place today in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊).
Lai thanked veterinarians for standing at the front line of epidemic prevention and safeguarding farmers and food safety.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Thanks to their contributions, Taiwan is not only free of foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever, but is also expected to be recognized as free of classical swine fever, Lai said.
There are 1.5 million pet dogs and 1 million pet cats in Taiwan, together exceeding the number of children under the age of 14, Lai said, referencing data from the organizer.
This shows the importance of pet healthcare, as problems with pet health could influence infectious diseases, Lai said.
The greatness of a nation is not in its size or population, or its strength of force, but in the civility of its society and degree of animal protection, Lai said.
By supporting pets, the animal medical support system passed by the government helps everyone, he said.
There are only about 5,000 practicing vets in Taiwan, with even fewer public vets, leaving a shortage of about 40 percent in each county and city, Lai said.
Giving public vets a non-practice bonus would address the income disparity between public and private vets and attract more talent to the field, he said.
As human doctors in public service receive a non-practice bonus, public vets should also receive one and the Ministry of Agriculture should study the proposal, Lai said.
The Executive Yuan would follow Lai’s proposal, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said when he arrived at the conference at noon.
Taiwan is expected to be recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health as free of classical swine fever this year, Cho said.
This achievement would not only allow Taiwanese to enjoy safe and delicious domestic pork, but also create opportunities to expand the nation’s pork export market, he said.
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