World Veterinary Day

World Veterinary Day is celebrated on the last Saturday of April every year. This year, World Veterinary Day 2022 will be on April 30, 2022. The World Veterinary Association (WVA) and HealthforAnimals are proud to announce the 2022 World Veterinary Day theme: Strengthening Veterinary Resilience.

With the rise of awareness of animal health, people are slowly learning the importance of Veterinary doctors and the kind of impact they create, making our world a better place. To commemorate all the vets worldwide, we celebrate World Veterinary Day.

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World Veterinary Day, 2022

• The 2022 World Veterinary Day will celebrate efforts from veterinarians, veterinary associations and others to strengthen veterinary resilience and bring attention to this important cause.
• Veterinarians are aware though that this burden can be physically and mentally taxing. Stress, burnout and other health issues have risen in recent years, particularly during the pandemic.
• Veterinarians, much like their patients, need proper tools and support to maintain their personal health and wellness.
• Healthy animals require healthy advocates. Resilient veterinarians are better equipped to handle the daily challenges and crises that may occur in their practices.

History of World Veterinary Day

• It was 1863 when Prof. J Gamgee invited renowned veterinary doctors from all across Europe to attend the first conference about animal health, particularly epizootic diseases and their prevention.
• This meeting was the first International Veterinary Congress. In 1959, at the 15th Internation Veterinary Congress meeting in Spain, the World Veterinary Association was established.
• The Association aims to bring forth the importance of veterinary science and increase awareness about animal health and welfare, including the safety of animals, rules of quarantine, etc.
• There are members from 72 countries representing national veterinary associations.
• Apart from advocating for animal health and veterinary science, WVA declared the last Saturday of April of every year as World Veterinary Day in 2001.

Theme of World Veterinary Day

Significance of World Veterinary Day

This day has a significant impact in the past. Some of the examples are as follows:

1. In 2001, the WVD’s theme was Rabies. So, the vets educated pet owners and NGOs about Rabies, as well as, free vaccination drive for animals, including spaying pets and street animals to promote a healthy environment for both animals and humans.
2. In 2020, the theme targeted the mental health of animals. Here, the vets spread awareness about the importance of animals’ mental health and how the lockdown sequences affected both pets and street animals. This year, people learned about many other branches of Veterinary science like Animal Psychiatry, Internal medicine, etc.
3. The Association brings awareness about various NGOs and authorities that work tirelessly for animal welfare. This helps to drive charities for donations and active participation.
4. A World Veterinary Association member, presented as alone or with a group, receives an annual award from the WVA and the Global Animal Medicines Association. Only those whose work/contribution is determined to be in line with the WVA’s theme are eligible for this award.

For example, in 2020, the Indian Veterinary Association of Kerala bagged the title of Best Veterinary Association with 2500 USD. This was due to their excellent work for the welfare of the animals, especially street animals while providing food and medicines amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The WVA created a mark on treating animals in great adversity with love, care, affection, and the right treatment.

On this day, the WVA hosts a conference where they invite WVA members to discuss topics related to animal welfare and new veterinary science technologies while increasing the bar of quality health care for animals.

They conduct various seminars to explore and share new knowledge about protecting our environment for future generations while still ensuring human-animal coexistence.

Importance of Veterinary Science

• Vets are equally important like any other doctors of any field. Animals, whether pets or stray, need love and care. And that’s where veterinary doctors come to rescue.
• From giving proper vaccinations to checking pets’ health, including livestock, a veterinary’s job covers all aspects of animal health, including prevention of animal abuse, pain management, oncology, etc.
• Overall, Veterinary medicine is concerned with the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases that impair the health of domestic and wild animals.
• Vets work in various departments. From taking care of wild animals in forests, national parks, zoos, sanctuaries to vet hospitals, NGOs, Vets play crucial roles in taking care of the animals’ sustenance.
• Some vets work with NGOs to help sterilize and spay street animals, including free animal vaccination to improve the quality of animals’ lives.
• The importance of quality vets has increased so much. But in comparison to the need, the number of vets is still less, which creates a huge gap affecting the health of animals in all sectors.

Conclusion

The celebration of such an occasion aims to evoke enthusiasm amongst students to take Veterinary Science as a career prospect and help increase the number of Vets in the country. The World Veterinary Day also looks forward to bettering veterinary medicine and research in veterinary science.

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