Veterinary officers with a heavy heart: It is hard to stay in this profession without passion

Considered the “extended arm” of the animal health sector in terms of livestock disease control, grassroots-level veterinary officers in remote areas of Kon Plong district (Kon Tum) are suffering many disadvantages because they have to work in a dangerous and harmful environment, while their remuneration is not commensurate.

It hurts to see livestock get sick

On a normal day in Po E commune (Kon Plong district), A Vec, a grassroots-level veterinary officer, walks around the villages to check on disease prevention and control work. The job seems simple, but few people understand the difficulties and hardships that veterinary officers like A Vec have to go through.

After nearly 5 years working as a veterinary officer at Po E commune, Vec still believes this is a predestined relationship. During the process of helping people prevent disease on livestock, Vec was recognized by the local authorities and invited to work as a veterinary officer so that he could fully utilize his abilities for his hometown.

Vec himself is not trained in veterinary practice. He learned from the experience of the previous veterinary officers and experts in the industry, so he gained some knowledge. Vec just simply felt sorry for the sick animals, so he tried to find out how to treat them effectively.

According to Vec, grassroots-level veterinary officers have a hard time working because they are often exposed to animal waste, polluted cages and grazing environments. Not to mention, danger is always lurking because they have to face aggressive animals when vaccinating and treating diseases.

The job of a grassroots-level veterinary officer is not easy, but the income is only VND 1.6 million. Without passion, it will be difficult to stick with the job like Vec. "To ensure the family economy, I have to take up the farm work with rice and coffee cultivation. Working as a grassroots-level veterinary officer is purely because of passion. The current salary cannot ensure the family's life,” he said.

In a similar situation, A Grang, a veterinary officer in Mang Canh commune (Kon Plong district) also came to this profession with a passion for helping people in disease prevention as well as livestock development.

Grang previously had no training in veterinary medicine but only learned from experience from those working in the veterinary scene. Also because of his passion, Grang absorbed knowledge very quickly and then became a veterinary officer of Mang Canh commune. "This job is very hard. You have to have passion. It would be impossible if you keep comparing income," Grang said.

Hope to get support to alleviate the hardship

As a veterinary officer in Mang Den town (Kon Plong district), A To is in charge of more than 10 hamlets and villages, and almost every household has livestock. The area is so large that To himself cannot manage everything. Every time he hears about an epidemic occurring in the area, To instantly feels uneasy.

When mentioning his income, To said with a sad face, “We have a child preparing to enter university. With an income of VND 1.6 million, I cannot afford to pay for my child's education. My wife works in the fields, her income is also not much. The family's life is very difficult”. To ensure the family's living conditions, To recently applied for a part-time job as a slaughterhouse inspector with a salary of VND 1.5 million.

According to Ung Van Thanh, Head of Kon Tum Sub-Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health, commune-level veterinary staff play a very important role in disease prevention and control for livestock. “In the near future, we will coordinate with the People's Committees of communes to grasp their aspirations and promptly support veterinary staff when they encounter difficulties and obstacles in the process of implementing their tasks,” he said.