[starry skies]

Couldn't speak for all zoos etc but I suspect some of the smaller ones have part-time vets. If there is a large collection it's probable that there will always be something to be done, from making sure anti-parasite treatments are up to date, general health check-ups, drafting health plans/preventative medicine etc etc. I did work experience at Edinburgh Zoo when I was at school and I'm pretty sure the vet was only there a few days a week (it was years ago though, so things might have changed). A mixed practice I worked at had a contract to provide the veterinary care for a local, fairly small scale wild-life park. One of our vets did most of their health plans and regular care, although I did have a memorable weekend on call when the owner brought me in a 4 month old skunk with a prolapsed rectum & the immortal words "oh, he's not scenting yet." Ha, and double-ha, it was 'scenting' all right - stunk the entire surgery out!

[threeportdrift]

(Original post by Botticello)
Thankyou Could I ask one more thing? Vets that work in a zoo/safari park, what do they do on a daily basis if the animals on site are in good health and don't need treatment?

I can't imagine that in a zoo that is of a size to have endangered animals in a captive breeding programme would ever leave a vet with nothing to do! Apart from treating animals that fall ill, there is a lot of monitoring for example pregnant females and the health/development of all the new births.

Then there is also the checking of animals that come into and leave the zoo, there is a lot of animal movement between zoos for breeding programmes.

I presume that the Vet also manages the scientific research done at the Zoo ie when students apply to research the behaviour etc of zoo animals, the Vet would approve, manage, oversee that researcher when on site.

I think Bristol Zoo, which is medium sized (physically quite small, but lots of animals) has one full time Vet and two or three student vets - you may find out more from their website. http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/about/animalcare/vet

[Botticello]

(Original post by starry skies)
Couldn't speak for all zoos etc but I suspect some of the smaller ones have part-time vets. If there is a large collection it's probable that there will always be something to be done, from making sure anti-parasite treatments are up to date, general health check-ups, drafting health plans/preventative medicine etc etc. I did work experience at Edinburgh Zoo when I was at school and I'm pretty sure the vet was only there a few days a week (it was years ago though, so things might have changed). A mixed practice I worked at had a contract to provide the veterinary care for a local, fairly small scale wild-life park. One of our vets did most of their health plans and regular care, although I did have a memorable weekend on call when the owner brought me in a 4 month old skunk with a prolapsed rectum & the immortal words "oh, he's not scenting yet." Ha, and double-ha, it was 'scenting' all right - stunk the entire surgery out!

yuck! What a lovely scent that must have been!

[lolilady---O]

(Original post by Evenstar)
I know graduate vets don't start out on megabucks, but one of the good things about being a vet is the package you often get. All the vets at the practice where I nurse get a house/flat with all bills paid, and a car with all mileage (except personal) and maintenence paid for PLUS their salary! Which I think is pretty good!

You're joking wow...
i had no idea some jobs would be willing to pay for that...
Are there any other careers that include such luxuries ?

[Pawsies]

seeing as I've been told again I don't know what I'm doing then I have a bit more to say.
Thanks for the assumption that I am a guy o_o

Vaccinations are not needed yearly, most breeders and some vets don't vaccinate anymore. Irresponsible I hear you say, well no, they have done the research into the pros and cons and made a conscious decision that they think is best..how can you criticise someone for that? Also, it may help to open your mind a wee bit more to other methods of protecting your pets. So, you could take a titer test which measures the level of immunity already in the animal, yes it is time consuming and expensive but I think in the long run if you do this then you are not jeopardising your animals health.
There are plenty of books available arguing against vaccinations, the one I have is Stop the Shots. Websites are http://www.healthyhappydogs.com/VaccinationDanger
http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/...kill-your-dog/

That's just 30 seconds research off google.

Gave you a head start.

[ProStacker]

Pawsies - your castigation of all vets makes anything else you say seem like the ramblings of a slightly mad woman.

[scrapps78]

Just stumbled across this forum and thought I would add a bit lol. Having been a qualified Vet for 6 years now I feel I can add a reasoned opinon.
My starting wage was 17k and mileage for my own car, probably on the lower side of the average as far as salary packages go lol! Its only now after 6 yrs my salary is pushing 40k, including accommodation and car allowances, and from comparing with my friends this is a fairly good deal! So in comparison to our medical and dental colleagues, I do think it is a bit on the low side.
Vaccinating animals is and will always remain a controversial topic, and yes some vets are trying to spread out the vaccination intervals, but certainly not vaccinating animals full stop. The diseases we protect against are still around and are deadly, things like tetanus, parvo, distemper, rabies and feline leukaemia are still seen in varying frequency around the world. If we stop vaccinating against them they will return with much greater prevalance. We mustn't forget either that vaccinations are to protect against disease but also to eradicate these diseases! Any animal or human can have reactions to vaccinations or medicines, nothing is 100% perfect, but it is a risk we take to care for our animals, and that risk is balanced against the risk of contracting those diseases we are protecting against.
As for vets fees, they may seem to the public expensive, but as has been highlighted before, the costs involved boil down to more than just our skill and training. In comparison to human medicine, we get it easy by not seeing the potential bills for NHS treatment we receive, but if we did I think we would all be surprised how cheap vet prices would be in comparison. For example a human general anaesthetic would push upto £1000 I imagine, so I think the £70 we charge isn't too unrealistic.
So, without wanting to sound patronising, I think with all the emotional, upsetting, stressful work we do along with the long hours and all the training we do, to ask £20-£30 for a 10-15min consult isn't too bad!! you'd pay at least £150 to see a human consultant privately!!
Dan BVMS MRCVS

[starry skies]

Ah, a good Glasgow grad. 2003 vintage Dan?

[scrapps78]

yup for sure, is that u linda F?

[starry skies]

Indeed it is. Doing a rather different job now for HM govt but still locuming at weekends - get to keep my hand in without resenting the clients too much!!

[scrapps78]

yeah, i have been tempted many times to quit vetting and do something different. But I think I have found my niche now, so u still in scotland??

[starry skies]

PM'd you so we don't hijack this thread!

[mythicalphantom]

the whole aim of vaccinations is to inject a denatured version of the bacteria into the animal so of course its going to have a slight effect on the animal and then thier immune system fights it off which creates memory cells and immunises them from future infections

[chris._.Bailey]

A newly qualified vet told me that the salary is 23 000 newly qualified. However most people who get into vet science could easily get into medicine and make a lot more

[ccooollll]

i agree with the use of vaccines as it protects the animals from infectious diseases :L

[Rhy477]

the salary for a vet is 40,000-60,000 in the uk.

[MadBadger]

Whatsthe difference in salaries between for example a private practice vet and a zoo vet???

[MLangan]

(Original post by Pawsies)
To justify my reasoning,

Vaccinations aren't required at all, infact they can and have made animals ill, yet vets insist that animals still need them.

They always advocate the most expensive brands. Why? Because unis teach that these are the best foods therefore vets will get more money.

They charge outrageous prices, £60 for a spay/neuter? £29 for tablets?
I'm sorry, that is ridiculous.

They may teach you from scratch at uni, but it might not be right at all.

Suprisingly a lot of people think such things and as a result animals die all the time in practice where a vaccination would have saved its life. Show me ANY research that says vaccinations are not required AT ALL. If you were to work in practice for just a few months you would see how many puppies die of parvo for example, if they were vaccinated the puppies life would have probably be spared.

You make a valid point about vaccinations making animals sick. On very rare occasions an animal can have a vaccine reaction. However this is the same for humans. It is also similar to an allergy, for example some people are allergic to Penicillin. The benefits of vaccinations GREATLY outweigh the drawbacks. It is much more likely for an animal to become sick and die a horrible, slow and painful death from not having a vaccination.

£60 to get an animal neutered is very reasonable. The vet would actually not make much profit from that at all (if any) depending on the type of neuter, for example if it was a bitch spay then the cost can be anywhere up to £200 depending on where you go and the size of the dog. Neutering is a major surgery, you would pay more then that to have your teeth cleaned by a dentist, which isn't a major surgery. If a human was to have a hysterectomy .. I dont even want to guess at what the price would be but it would be A LOT more then £60 (privately).

Some tablets cost hundreds, not just £29. Your paying for the amount of scientific research that is required to get a drug tested and liscenced, the availability of the drug and the cost of having it prescribed by a qualified medical professional. £29 is not much depending on the drug. Some drugs cost a lot less. If you can figure out a way to make medicine cheaper I would very much like to know, so would the entire medical profession.

As for the food brands, there are premium pet food brands that are better then supermarket brands. In fact Purina's premium food has been scientifically proven to extend an animals life by one year in comparison to its supermarket products. RCW, Hills etc etc are all made from the best quality products. They use actual animal meat rather then animal derivatives such as chicken feet. Also these foods are scientifically tailored to meet the specific requirements of the individual animal. Finally in the long run a lot of these foods work out to be cheaper due to having to feed them less in comparison to supermarket foods. They have a much higher nutritional value per gram.

Please do some research before you say things like this. Vets try hard to teach and inform the public. I hope that by reading this you will have learned something and hopefully changed your mind.