U.S. will be short 15,000 veterinarians by 2030, study says
Increased pet ownership following COVID-19 is straining the veterinary industry and causing a shortage of vets across the United States, and according to a Mars Veterinary Health Study, that stress isn't expected to ease anytime soon. "Overall recent study indicated that the U.S. by 2030 will be 15,000 veterinarians short," said Dr. Ryan Carpenter at Family Friends Veterinary Hospital in Grand Rapids. Currently, the U.S. has around 116,000 practicing veterinarians; nearly 2,000 retire each year. Family Friends Veterinary Hospital says it has been proactive in hiring. "We haven't seen a shortage of veterinarians in Michigan, mostly because we have a vet school at Michigan State so that helps. There definitely overall is a shortage and it plays into all veterinary clinics," said Dr. Carpenter. "To give you a sense of how things have changed dramatically, so I graduated vet school 11 years ago, and there were 18 students in my class when we graduated that did not have jobs. Now it wouldn't be uncommon for people to have a job their second or third year of vet school, so they're, they're very much in high demand."
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