Veterinary Science as a career in India

Veterinary Science as a career in India

A Veterinary Doctor is a qualified medical practitioner who has the knowledge and ability to diagnose, treat and cure the diverse type of diseases in animals and birds.

Apart from caring of animal health, a veterinarian’s job also includes scientific breeding and handling of livestock as well as birds, performing surgery, vaccinating animals and birds against diseases and controlling zoonotic diseases, educating his/ her client i.e animal owners about public health & hygiene, doing research on animals for the benefit of the society. A veterinarian may also work in the field of wildlife conservation, livestock and poultry management and also in the field of rural development. In other words, they protect the health and well-being of animals as well as people and have a major role in the conservation of livestock and domestic animal wealth.

Besides, veterinarians also play pivotal role in the society by ensuring nutritional security particularly protein supplementation in terms of hygienic milk, milk and egg  as well as employment generation by developing entrepreneurship among the farmers.

Veterinarians are the best doctors in the world; they cant’s ask their patients what the matter is; they just have to know it.

A veterinarian needs good power of observation and analysis to find out what is wrong with their patients.

CAREERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE

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Role of Veterinary Science in the National Economy:

• India is considered an agricultural country. 60% of its population still depends on Agriculture & allied sector for their livelihood.
• Livestock play an important role in the socio-economic development of the country.
• Livestock sector contributed 4.5% of GDP of India and 25.8% of total agricultural output of the country [GOI report, 2015-16]
• Annual growth rate of livestock sector during last 5 years is in between 4-5 % when the annual growth rate of agriculture sector was below 2%.
• About 16.44 million working people of India is directly associated with this sector.
• Milk is the single most commodities which rank first in terms of monetary value output among all agriculture commodities.
• Livestock are the best insurance against the vagaries of nature like drought, famine and other natural calamities. They supplement family income and generate gainful self-employment, particularly for landless labourers, small and marginal farmers and women.
• Livestock Sector not only provides essential proteins and nutritious human diet through milk, eggs, meat etc., but also plays an important role in utilization of non-edible agricultural by-products. Livestock also provides raw material by-products such as hides, skin, blood, bone, fat etc.
• Animals are natural capital, which can be easily reproduced to act as a living bank with offspring as interest, and an insurance against income shocks of crop failure and natural calamities.

Veterinary Curriculum

(prescribed by the Veterinary Council of India)

Bachelor of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc. & A.H.)- 5 year degree programme comprising 4½ years course work and 6 months compulsory Internship.

Subject covered:-

• Veterinary Anatomy
• Veterinary Physiology & Biochemistry
• Veterinary Pharmacology & Toxicology
• Veterinary Parasitology
• Veterinary Microbiology
• Veterinary Pathology
• Veterinary Public Health & Epidemiology
• Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Extension
• Animal Nutrition
• Animal Genetics & Breeding
• Livestock Production Management
• Livestock Products Technology
• Veterinary Gynecology &Obstetrics
• Veterinary Surgery & Radiology
• Veterinary Medicine.
• Preventive Veterinary Medicine.
• Feed and Fodder Cultivation.

Post-Graduation Disciplines:-

• Veterinary Anatomy
• Veterinary Physiology
• Animal Biochemistry
• Veterinary Pharmacology
• Veterinary Parasitology
• Veterinary Microbiology
• Veterinary Pathology
• Veterinary Public Health
• Veterinary Extension Education
• Animal Nutrition
• Animal Genetics & Breeding
• Animal Biotechnology
• Livestock Production Management
• Poultry Science
• Livestock Products Technology
• Veterinary Gynaecology & Obstetrics
• Veterinary Surgery & Radiology
• Veterinary Medicine
• Wildlife Veterinary Medicine

Career Opportunities:-

After completion of graduation/post graduation/PhD, veterinarians may generally be absorbed in the Central/State Government/other services with attractive salary packages like-

• Department of Animal Husbandry &Veterinary Services [State     Government]

• Agriculture Research Service [Under Indian Council of Agriculture   Research]

•   Veterinary Universities
•   Milk Federations [Central/State]
•   Indian Army / Paramilitary Services
•   International Institutions
•   Research Centers [National/International]
•   Laboratories
•  Livestock Farms
•   Poultry Industry
•  Equine Industry
•  Wildlife Management/Zoological Parks/Other sectors
•  Indian Forest Service
•  Banking Sector
•  Pharmaceutical Industry
•  Non-GovernmentOrganizations
•  Business Management
•  Civil Services

Self-employment:

Beside service Veterinarians can also establish themselves in :

• Clinical Practice
• Livestock Enterprise
• Livestock Product Manufacture

Department of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services

• Veterinary Officers remain in-charge of Veterinary Hospitals.
• Job profile includes treatment of ailing cases, organizing health and vaccination camps, implementing developmental programmes of the Government, increasing awareness about scientific animal husbandry practices, management of disasters and epidemics, administrative duties and financial responsibilities etc.
• Veterinary Officers can be posted in livestock farms, semen banks, zoological parks, municipal corporations, slaughter houses, livestock development boards etc.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

• ARS Scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) work in the topmost agriculturural/ livestock research institutions of the country like the Indian Veterinary Research Institute and the National Dairy Research Institute.
• Post graduation is essential.

Veterinary Universities & Colleges

• Veterinary/Agriculture University faculty are involved in teaching, research and extension activities.
• Post graduation is essential.

Milk Federations

• Veterinary Officers are in-charge Mobile Veterinary Units and provide veterinary support to members of the Milk Producers’ Cooperative Societies established by the National Dairy Development Board.
• Job profile includes treatment of cases, organizing health and vaccination camps, generating awareness about scientific animal husbandry practices, administrativeduties etc.

Indian Army/Paramilitary Services

• The Indian Army’s Remount & Veterinary Corps is involved in the breeding and training of horses, mules and Army dogs for military duties.
• Recruitment is through the Indian Army’s Service Selection Board (SSB)
• Similar opportunities exist in the Border Security Force and Indo-Tibetian Border Police.

Research Centres

• Veterinarians are vital for the establishment of any research centre which involves conducting experiments on laboratory/experimental animals. Most drugs/cosmetics need to be tested on experimental animals before human trials can be taken up.
• Job profile includes designing and conducting the trials keeping animal welfare in view.

Laboratories

• Veterinarians are an integral part of Livestock Disease Diagnostic Laboratories and Livestock Feed Analytical Laboratories.

Livestock Farms

• Veterinarians are essential for the management of large-scale, intensive livestock farms.
• Job profile includes planning and design of the farm, management of resources, manpower planning, animal health management, value-addition and marketing of products, enhancing productivity etc.

Poultry Industry

• As poultry are prone to various disease, the veterinarian’s role is critical for the functioning of large-scale poultry farms.
• Specializations include poultry breeder, poultry nutritionist, poultry pathologist, hatchery manager,technical manager, sales manager etc.
• Job profile includes planning and design of the farm, management of resources, manpower planning, value-addition and marketing of products, enhancing productivity etc.

Equine Industry

• Veterinarians are in great demand in Turf Clubs and Stud Farms where horses are bred and reared for racing. Specialists in surgery, medicine and gynaecology are preferred.

Wildlife Management/Zoological Parks

• Specially trained veterinarians are posted in Zoological Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• Job profile includes capture and treatment of wildlife in the forests as well as in captivity, management of wildlife conservation measures, welfare of captive animals, rescue of stray wildanimals etc.

Indian Forest Service

• All India Service dealing with conservation and management of forest wealth of the country.
• Selection on the basis of All-India competitive examination.

Banking Sector

• Banks recruit veterinarians as Rural Development Officers and Probationary Officers.
• Job profile includes vetting and sanctioning of loans to the livestock sector, organizing trainings and demonstrating to farmers, developing linkages to aid the farmers in marketing their produces etc.

Pharmaceutical Industry

• Veterinarians are employed in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry in research & diagnosis, as technical managers, and as sales managers.

Non-Government Organizations

• Many veterinarians are associated with NGOs involved in livestock development, rural development, animal welfare activities etc. in India and abroad.

Business Management

• With the rapid growth of corporates in agriculture production, processing and marketing, there is great interest in the field of Livestock Business Management.
• Veterinary Graduates can take up post-graduation in Agri-Business Management (ABM) from the Indian Institutes of Management, Institute of Rural Management Anand and any of theVeterinary/Agriculture Universities to occupy managerial positions in many firms involved in the agri-business sector.

Civil Services

• Many veterinarians take up careers in the Central Civil Services and State Civil Services as “Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science” is one of the Optional Papers for the exam.

Livestock Product Manufacture

Value addition of livestock produce is essential for the success of any livestock enterprise. Veterinarians are ideally suited for starting ventures in fields such as:

• Milk processing
• Milking station
• Poultry meat processing
• Poultry byproducts processing
• Egg processing
• Sheep meat processing
• Wool processing

Livestock Enterprise

Veterinarians can consider the following as business:-

• Dairy farming – crossbred cows or buffaloes
• Sheep farming
• Goat farming
• Swine farming
• Rabbit farming
• Poultry farming – broiler
• Poultry farming – layer
• Poultry – hatchery
• Other poultry species – ducks, quails, emu, turkey etc.
• Pet care centre

Clinical Practice

• Veterinarians can take up either full-fledged or part-time clinical practice depending on their choice.
• Clinical practice can be oriented towards pets or farm animals, or a combination of both.

Summary

The veterinary graduate has a multitude of prospects open to him/her, with options including Government service, administrative posts, research, academics, wildlife management, banking, military service, corporate jobs, livestock farming, entrepreneurship etc. The B.V.Sc. & A.H. programme equips veterinarians with versatile skills and enables them to decide what course their career should take based on their interests.

Source- http://pvdawb.com/veterinary-science-as-a-carrier