Careers in Animal Advocacy: Veterinary Medicine

Careers in Animal Advocacy: Veterinary Medicine Andrew Knight BSc., BVMS, Cert AW, MRCVS, FOCAE Veterinarian & Director Animal Consultants International www.AnimalConsultants.org

Professional animal advocacy: key qualifications/skills
Medicine
Nutrition/dietetics
Veterinary medicine
Law
Education
Graphic/web design
Fundraising/marketing
Business management
Accounting
Movie star/rock idol/celebrity!

Professional advocacy: benefits
Expertise and credibility
Money for campaigning
Ability to make own decisions
Satisfying employment, professional working environments
Ability to travel

My campaigns!
Animals Count: a UK political party for animals
( www.AnimalsCount.org )
Vegan companion animal diets
( www.vegepets.info )
Animal experimentation
( www.AnimalExperiments.info )
Harmful use of animals in education
( www.HumaneLearning.info )
( www.LearningWithoutKilling.info )

Professional advocacy: conferences

Professional advocacy: gourmet vegan food!!!

Professional advocacy: fun actions

Professional advocacy: even fun- er actions!!

Professional advocacy: world travel

Professional advocacy : castles

Professional advocacy: mountains

Professional advocacy: beaches

Veterinary medicine as a career path

Benefits of a veterinary degree
Ability to work part-time, campaign part-time
Money for campaigns
Ability to travel
Ethical employment helping animals…?

Realities of veterinary practice
Types of practice: community spay/neuter clinics, shelter medicine, wildlife practice, small animal practice, equine, farm animal, laboratory animal medicine, public health (e.g. USDA), slaughterhouse inspection
Attitudes towards animals can be poor
Working conditions can be poor

Costs of a veterinary education
Tuition: $10-40k x 4 years. E.gs. North Carolina $6-7k in state, Cornell $19k in state (middle of the range), Tufts $30k + in and out of state
Living costs: $12k + x 4 years
Total (mid-range estimate): $130,000
Loss of earning potential for 4 years (undergrad degree takes 4 more years)
Cheaper overseas

Veterinary salaries
$40-50k new graduate
$80-85k San Francisco small animal practice, 3 yrs experience
$100-120k specialist (ophthalmologists, surgeons highest)

Gaining admission to vet school
Undergraduate subjects: chemistry (inorganic & organic), biology, microbiology, physics, English. Possibly also: physiology, nutrition, calculus. Undergrad degrees normal, but not necessarily essential
Grades: ~3.5+ GPA to be competitive, GRE most schools, MCAT some
Veterinary work experience: minimum 180 hrs; 2,500 hrs to be competitive
3 letters of recommendation: 1-2 from veterinarians; one from a faculty member

Gaining admission to vet school
Personal statement/letter: reasons why you’re likely to succeed, qualities/interests you can offer the profession
Admission interviews decreasing?
Do NOT express any animal rights sympathies until safely enrolled!
Admissions formulae vary with schools
Easier admission abroad?

Animal use in vet school
Non Harmful: animal handling, clinical experience including beneficial surgeries
Harmful: preclinical (physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, parasitology, anatomy), surgical, large animal rotations, farms, slaughterhouses

Animal use in vet school
Humane alternatives:
Preclinical: computer simulations, videos, plasticized specimens, models, ethically sourced cadavers, non-invasive self-experimentation
Surgical: surgical simulators, ethically-sourced cadaver surgery (usu. via body donation programs), supervised surgical experience, animal shelter sterilisation programs
Very poor attitudes towards animal use very common
List of vet schools offering alternatives: Humane Soc Vet Med Assoc ( www.hsus.org/hsvma )

Surviving vet school
Gaining admission: organised, focused, patient and persistent. Will probably take years
Will have to work with animal researchers, staff and students with poor ethical attitudes towards animals. You will be vastly outnumbered
Support: [email_address]
Hours: >40-50 hrs/wk class/lab time for first 3 yrs; 80 hrs/wk clinic work 4th yr. Social/personal life severely compromised

Professional advocacy: summary
Money, and ability run own campaigns, part-time
Satisfying employment
Ability to travel
“ It is not enough to be compassionate; you must act.”
His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, 14 th Dalai Lama, 1992

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Careers in Animal Advocacy: Veterinary Medicine

by Andrew Knight on May 11, 2010

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Careers in Animal Advocacy: Veterinary Medicine — Presentation Transcript