China Passes First Professional Veterinarians
CHINA - The country's first professional veterinary practitioners have qualified by passing new examinations for the profession.In 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture carried out pilot examinations of professional veterinary practitioners in provinces of Jilin and Henan, Guangxi and Ningxia autonomous regions and Chongqing Municipality. According to the qualification threshold set by the third meeting of the National Examination Committee of Veterinary Practitioners, 5,226 applicants have passed the test, 1,086 of whom as veterinary practitioners, and the other 4,140 as assistant veterinary practitioners. Recently, qualified applicants were issued with the Certificate of Veterinary Practitioner or the Certificate of Assistant of Veterinary Practitioner by the Ministry, as the first batch of professional veterinary practitioners in China.
Professional veterinary practitioners are defined as technicians who have skills of veterinary service, obtain practice qualification in line with state regulations, and provide service concerning the diagnosis and treatment of animal diseases as well as animal health. These people are an important component of China's new veterinary service force, playing a key role in the veterinary working system. On one hand, they can reduce losses caused by animal diseases through epidemics prevention, diagnosis, treatment and related consultation. On the other hand, these practitioners are usually the first to timely discover or report animal epidemics, working at the frontline to contain the epidemic situation.
The system of professional veterinary practitioners is a common practice in China and other countries or regions, constituting an important instrument to implement the Law on Animal Epidemic Prevention and Control and the Opinions of the State Council on Promoting Systematic Reform of Veterinary Service Management. The production of the first batch of professional veterinary practitioners will be a milestone to improve the competence of China's veterinary practitioners, control and prevent major animal epidemics, guarantee sound and sustained development of animal husbandry, and protect public health and safety.