Veterinary Voices

US veterinary licensing exam challenged as biased

The administrator of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination will initiate an independent audit in the wake of allegations that the test required for veterinarians to practice in the United States and Canada is biased.

This story was published on December 26, 2025.

Justice Department weighs in on lawsuit against AVMA

The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped into a lawsuit challenging standards and procedures used by the country's only accreditor of veterinary education. In a nonbinding "statement of interest," the agency pushes back on elements of the American Veterinary Medical Association's response to a suit lodged by Lincoln Memorial University.

This story was published on Dec. 18, 2025.

Plan to close Cambridge veterinary program sparks outcry

The University of Cambridge is poised to become the first educational institution in the West in decades to end an established veterinary medicine program, a prospect that's sparked a sharp rebuke from its staff and students, who have pledged to do whatever they can to stop the prestigious British school from closing.

The British Veterinary Association, which represents more than 19,000 practitioners in the United Kingdom, also called for a rethink of the plan, which it described as "deeply worrying."

This story was published on Dec. 15, 2025.

Singapore to add regulator as veterinarian numbers soar

Two decades ago, Singapore had around 100 veterinarians. Today, more than 650 are licensed to practice in the Southeast Asian city-state.

The remarkable growth, driven in large part by a rise in pet ownership, has propelled lawmakers to rectify what many see as a glaring shortcoming: the lack of a dedicated veterinary regulator.

This story was published on Dec. 10, 2025.

Tuskegee veterinary school fights to maintain accreditation

Ever since Tuskegee University's veterinary school failed to meet what appeared to be a make-or-break accreditation standard last year regarding its students' performance on the national licensing exam, the question has loomed whether it would lose the crucial recognition.

An answer came in November.

This story was published on Dec. 4, 2025.

Going the distance to bring veterinary care to a Pacific island

On a crisp, blue-sky autumn day, Lauren Cabrera sits at Pups & Cups Cafe, a go-to study spot in the college town of Pullman, Washington. Two and a half months into her first year of veterinary school, Cabrera is studying on her iPad and slipping treats under the table to her dog, Cleo.

Like every other veterinary student who frequents this cafe, Cabrera, sporting a maroon Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine sweatshirt, has a lot of schoolwork to do. Unlike her peers, she already has started a veterinary clinic, where she will work after she graduates in 2029 — 5,800 miles away.

This story was published on Dec. 1, 2025.

Sunny thinking rose from a dark period

Running late en route to a meeting one night and already grumpy, Dr. Trae Cutchin got stuck in traffic and grew grumpier still. But when he saw that the backup was caused by a terrible accident, Cutchin realized that his bad day was nothing compared with the driver's.

The moment marked a turning point in Cutchin's mindset and inspired an online discussion with fellow veterinarians. "No matter how bad anyone's day is," he wrote, "there is always a little good in it. Find it. Relate it." An instant hit, the "best thing" conversation has been active for more than 12 years.

This story was published on Nov. 24, 2025.

Caring for and learning from the dogs of Chornobyl

When a reactor exploded at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the thousands of people evacuated from a 19-mile exclusion zone were ordered to leave their pets behind. Soviet authorities said they'd be home in around three days. That never happened, and their dogs, cats and any other animals were abandoned in the wake of what turned out to be, and still is, the worst nuclear accident in history.

Today, nearly 40 years later, the descendants of some of those abandoned animals live on, including hundreds of stray dogs that inhabit the dilapidated remnants of the plant and nearby town of Chornobyl, both located in what is now northern Ukraine.

This story was published Nov. 18, 2025.

Hanover College suspends effort to open veterinary school

New rules on how accredited veterinary schools use distance education have derailed a proposed program in Indiana.

Hanover College announced an intent in late 2023 to open a veterinary school that would combine remote and in-person instruction. It would have been the first of its kind.

This story was published on Nov. 20, 2025.

Questions follow company's claim that its AI aced the NAVLE

A fledgling company that describes itself as the first artificial intelligence reasoning platform built for veterinary medicine made a splash in October with a press release proclaiming "OpenVet becomes first AI to score perfect 100% on the NAVLE," referring to the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination.

Upon seeing the press release, dated Oct. 8, the not-for-profit corporation that administers the NAVLE pushed back, calling the claim "false" in a letter to the company that was shared with the VIN News Service.

This story was published on Nov. 13, 2025.