STORIES OF SUCCESSFUL LADY VETERINARIANS AROUND THE GLOBE
Arpita Priyadarshini
4th professional year BVSc & AH, College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry,
OUAT, Bhubaneswar
Margaret Irmgard Rose was born in South Africa on May 15, 1931, and has spent
She spent her youth in Germany before returning to South Africa in 1947 to complete her education at Durban Girls High School in 1948. She was motivated to become a veterinarian, and in 1950, she was chosen as the fifth girl to attend Onderstepoort. As the sole female in the class, she was intimidated by the ‘boys’ and kept a strong face.
Despite her stiff upper lip, she lost out on certain student balls due to her refusal to accept invites. The class gave Prof. W Malherbe a gift of lipstick and lovely panties at his On her 21st birthday, she saw it as a lesson to be more feminine and less of a tomboy!
After qualifying in 1953, she chose to stay in Durban to care for her elderly mother. Due to a lack of accessible veterinary assistant positions, she volunteered at the Durban SPCA and assisted with various cases. She worked as a receptionist for a medical radiologist while establishing her own clinic. She also taught Zoology to pharmacy students at the local Technical College to augment her income.
Fortunately, she could benefit from Dr. Jim Dore’s experience. Her profession focused on philanthropy, and she enjoyed working with exotics. As a founding member of the local Animal Anti-Cruelty League Committee in 1960, her animal welfare activities expanded significantly.
She also served as a veterinarian with the Natal SAPS dog handler team and private security firms. In 1996, she discontinued her private practice due to financial constraints, but later returned to full-time work.
Margaret has always been actively interested in church activities. She married in 1955 and has three children (two sons and one daughter) and six grandchildren. Margaret, a divorcee, married Tienie Roos, the SAVA office manager for several years, in 1981. She attended her Class’s 50th reunion in 2003. Tienie died on October 19, 2008, but Margaret attended the 60-year reunion in 2013. She retired early in 2019.
Lente van der Merwe was the eighth female graduate from the Onderstepoort Faculty. Previously, the Dean of the Faculty criticised her career decision, claiming that it unfairly disadvantaged male candidates for breadwinner positions.
help address the country’s severe shortage of veterinarians. After she started her large-animal practice, he visited and complimented her on her accomplishment. Due to the lack of women’s hostels, she stayed with Dr. Daan Smit and his wife during her course.
Lente, who qualified in 1957, became the first female state veterinarian in South Africa in 1958. She worked at the Cape Town laboratory on a salary of £49-10-0 per month, comparable to her male colleagues. Her duties included poultry and quarantine.
The following year, she married André Hansen and started a big animal practice on the farm Ludlow in Transvaal (now Limpopo Province). The first female veterinarian faced hostility from traditionalist bushveld farmers, but swiftly demonstrated her ability and gained their trust.
The heartwater of cattle was a nightmare for the local stock farmers. Sulphonamides had minimal success throughout their initial trials.
However, the arrival of tetracyclines provided optimism.
Pulverising terramycin tablets, dissolving them in hot water, and injecting them intravenously proved effective. To ensure that local beef and dairy farmers receive adequate
Lente developed an immunisation centre on the farm after breeding bulls from heartwater-free zones. The animals were stabled for approximately 40 days and immunised against heartwater using Neitz and Alexander’s 1945 approach. Tetracycline was administered as soon as a fever reaction arose. Hundreds of high-quality animals were made available to the cattle sector in the heartwater-endemic area.
The practice focused on livestock and companion animals, as well as TB testing and collecting blood samples for brucellosis testing. After losing her husband in 1993, Lente had to maintain both the practice and the farming operation on her alone. She gratefully recognises heavenly support.
Lente retired in 1995 and her son took over the practice. Lente said she would want to work as a rural large animal veterinarian if given the opportunity again.
Lorraine Albré de Jager
Lorraine Albré de Jager, a part-time Free State farmer’s daughter, was born October 27, 1933. She attended Jan Celliers Primary and Helpmekaar Girls High School in Johannesburg. Known as Albré by her classmates, she was the seventh woman to
Qualify as a veterinarian. As a 10-year-old girl, she developed an interest in veterinary medicine after caring for a distemper pup. She pursued her aim of becoming a veterinarian and was admitted to the Onderstepoort Faculty in 1954. During her time at the university, she faced discrimination against female veterinary students and teasing from classmates. On her 21st birthday, she received celebratory kisses from all 15 male pupils in her class. Due to the lack of hostel facilities for women, she stayed with two hostel matrons.
The length of her Onderstepoort course.
Lorraine joined the Johannesburg SPCA after certifying in 1957. One of her interesting patients was a lion cub. In 1959, she married her colleague, Anthonie (Tonie) Snijders, who graduated in 1953. While raising four children (three sons and a daughter), she worked as a locum for Johannesburg vets, accompanied by her pre-school children.
She also maintained a modest practice from home. Tonie joined Merck Sharp & Dohme in 1961 and moved to the US in 1975 and spent 13 years of his career their. Lorraine became interested in cardiology after her father passed away from a heart attack a year after moving to the United States. After gaining experience at a medical heart and lung hospital, she earned a master’s degree in veterinary cardiology from the University of.
Her thesis at Pennsylvania focused on cardiac troponins. Lorraine, a divorcee with a unique qualification, relocated to the USA and worked as a consultant in specialist clinics in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, focusing on echo cardiology.
Despite living in Lumberton, New Jersey, her eldest son, Louis, an Onderstepoort graduate now practicing in the USA, reports that she continues to attend conferences on a regular basis.
