The Scottish Government is offering funding to vets to help cover the cost of becoming an Official Veterinarian (OV).
OVs carry out a range of statutory duties on behalf of the Scottish Government, including Tuberculin Testing and the investigation of notifiable animal diseases.
Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, said additional funding was being made available to help new and existing OVs gain the relevant training and qualifications.
“To ensure we have this provision available to us across Scotland, I would encourage any new vets who are interested to apply for this funding as soon as possible as all training must be completed by the end of March 2022,” added Ms Gougeon.
“For existing OVs, I encourage those who have qualifications due to expire shortly to revalidate their training and maintain their enhanced skills.”
Scotland’s chief veterinary officer, Sheila Voas, welcomed the funding package and said it was vital Scotland has adequate OV provision.
She said: “Any impact on the delivery of these statutory disease control activities could increase the risk of disease going undetected which could cause wider issues for rural Scotland.
“So it is important that we have OVs in Scotland to ensure that we are able to respond quickly in islands and very remote rural communities with a locally based vet.”
The funding on offer for new entrants to undertake the training is £22,120 plus VAT, while the funding for existing OVs to renew their qualifications is £3,249 plus VAT.
More details are online at www.gov.scot/publications/official-veterinarians-training-support/