What does the veterinary team do in a zoo?
Most people think the veterinary department simply treats sick animals - but this is only part of the story. The vet team’s job is to keep the Zoo’s collection of animals as healthy as possible and, together with keepers and scientists, optimise their welfare. Between them they carry out a preventative health care programme, help with nutrition and advise on the design of enclosures.
An important part of the veterinary department’s role is to prevent disease in the animals. Animals are checked at every opportunity - on arrival, when they are mixed with others or moved to a different enclosure. Everything from the substrate in an enclosure to the animals’ diet can play a part.
In any population of animals, some will eventually become sick. As animals become older things like heart disease, joint problems, dental infection and diabetes can become more prevalent. After death, post-mortem examinations help us to understand why an animal died and to find out more about the species. We can study anatomy, contribute to research projects, investigate nutritional diseases and study the common diseases that occur in a particular species.
Other work includes teaching (vet staff take work experience students and give presentations to outside groups, to conferences, on the Zoo’s own MSc course and to keepers), office work and research.
How to become a vet
There are currently seven vet schools in the UK. You can only apply to four in one year; your application has to be made through UCAS. All veterinary science degrees are five years except Cambridge (which is six). Some schools offer the option of extending the course to do a BSc in the middle of the degree.
Vet school website links:
Nottingham vet school
Bristol vet school
London (RVC)
Cambridge vet school
Liverpool vet school
Edinburgh vet school
Glasgow vet school
Requirements
GCSEs (generally):
- Minimum of 5 grade As to include chemistry, biology and physics (or the science double award).
- Grade A at AS level physics can compensate for achieving grade B at GCSE.
- Minimum of grade B in maths and English language
A levels:
- Minimum of grades AAB, in chemistry, biology (or human biology) and a third subject (excluding only general studies) at A level (A2).
- Chemistry and biology must be passed at grade A.
- Taking a fourth A level will NOT increase your chances of being offered a place.
See individual vet school websites for most recent requirements and other qualifications.
Work experience:
Most veterinary schools require at least 6 weeks’ work experience. It is best to get this in as many different establishments as possible such as: small animal practice, large animal practice, equine practice, zoological collection, veterinary laboratory, abattoir, cattery, kennels, horse stables, farm work. It is also a good idea to get a reference at the time from all places you do work experience and keep a diary of what you do and any interesting cases you see.
BMAT:
BMAT is the Biomedical Admissions Test. It normally takes place on or around the 1st November. You can take the test at your school most of the time, if not there are open centres around the country where you can take the examination. At present (2007 entry) it is only Cambridge University and RVC that require this examination however this changes frequently. See the website below for more details on the examination.
http://www.bmat.org.uk/index.html
Tuition fees:
Most vet schools are currently charging £3000 for tuition fees, this is means tested according to your parent’s income and some or all of this is paid for by the government. You can also get a student loan usually up to about £5500 to help with your accommodation costs, books etc so do not let the costs put you off – Help is available.
Other options…
Do not worry if you do not get in to veterinary school the first time – it is a very competitive degree. You could take another degree first (such as animal science, zoology or veterinary science), go to a veterinary school in another country or pursue another career such as veterinary nurse, zoo keeper, laboratory assistant, kennel assistant.
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