EFRA Committee to hear evidence on vet shortages
The EFRA Committee will hear evidence on Tuesday 12 March on the continued shortage of Official Veterinarians available to work in the meat supply chain, which threatens to seize-up the UK’s meat export trade. With the extra pressure of new import checks, this will only get worse.
This begs the question: is it now time to review the roles of vets in the food supply chain? Should we consider a similar system to ones in operation in several European countries like Spain? This is where Meat Inspectors receive special training, which is a subset of full veterinary training, so they can deliver the appropriate level of expertise in the meat supply setting. It’s akin to the division of labour between Dental Surgeons and Dental Nurses. If this kind of role were to be created, it would substantially reduce the pressure on the small number Official Veterinarians and reduce the reliance on immigration to fill the workforce gaps.
