Veterinary Voices

Royal Veterinary College regains full accreditation in US

The Royal Veterinary College has regained full accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education after its students sharply improved their collective performance on the key licensing exam that must be passed to practice veterinary medicine in the United States and Canada.

Students at the British school who elected to take the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam achieved a pass rate of 86% during the 2024-25 academic year, according to an update posted on the school website.

This story was published on Oct. 27, 2025.

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This story was published on Oct. 20, 2025.

UK moves to compel veterinary clinics to post prices

Veterinary practices in the United Kingdom will have to state the prices of key services such as vaccinations, diagnostics and surgery up front, under provisional rules outlined on Oct. 15 by the country's competition regulator.

The rules also include a requirement for practices to clearly disclose their ownership to the public and the imposition of a £16 (US$21) cap on prescription fees, which many veterinarians charge when clients purchase drugs from a third-party provider.

This story was published on Oct. 15, 2025.

Accreditor green-lights South Carolina's first veterinary school

South Carolina is accepting applications to the state's first veterinary school, following a nod from the accreditor of veterinary education.

This story was published on Oct. 14, 2025.

Putting veterinary social workers on the map

Early efforts are underway to establish veterinary social work as a distinct vocation in Australia and the United Kingdom, potentially bringing increased global recognition to a role that has been gaining traction gradually in North America.

This story was published on Oct. 8, 2025.

Three states adopt laws allowing emergency medics to treat K9s

When Sgt. Christopher Moore goes to work in the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Houston, his partner, Rex, is always at his side.

A K9 officer, Rex is one of many specially trained working dogs around the country — often German shepherds — that assist law enforcement, military and other emergency response organizations, including search and rescue. K9s perform a variety of tasks. They detect drugs or explosives, track missing persons, help to apprehend suspects and more.

This story was published on Oct. 2, 2025.

After a gap year, rural veterinary incentive program to resume

After skipping a cycle selecting applicants for the first time in its 15-year history, a federal incentive program to draw veterinarians to work in rural, underserved regions of the United States is coming back online.

The return of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program was announced in a Rural Veterinary Action Plan issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 28 to strengthen the rural food animal veterinary workforce.

This story was published on Sept. 25, 2025.

Veterinarians stress importance of disaster planning

Dr. Debra Zoran has lost count of the number of times people have complained to her about losing their pets during natural disasters.

"I've heard it over and over and over again: 'I didn't think my dog would run off in the middle of the night,' " Zoran said. "If there's a fire bearing down on the house and they're loose, they're running. It's survival instinct."

This story was published on Sept. 23, 2025.

Apoquel accidental overdoses are rising in cats and dogs

Apoquel, a drug for skin allergies in dogs, came out two years ago in the United States in a chewable form flavored with pork to make it palatable. It's proven to be that, to an extreme.

Two separate organizations that operate hotlines for pet poison emergencies report a rising trend in overdoses in dogs and cats, who are breaking into the packaging and gorging on the contents.

This story was published on Sept. 18, 2025.

Koala vaccine approval could pause slide in numbers

Chlamydia, a bacterial infection best known as a sexually transmitted disease in people, has increased the risk of koalas going extinct. Now, the approval of the first-ever vaccine to protect the iconic Australian bear-like marsupial from chlamydia promises to arrest a rapid decline in their numbers.

The vaccine also is regarded by scientists as a potential blueprint for treating chlamydia in other animals, such as sheep, cattle and humans.

This story was published on Sept. 16, 2025.