Official veterinarians are professionals with a comprehensive scientific education. They have the authority to carry out, in an independent, ethical, and personally responsible capacity, all veterinary activities with a particular focus on the health and welfare of animals and public health in accordance with national and international legislation. They are responsible for national animal disease eradication programmes, the protection of public health and food or animal inspection, animal movements, and the import and export of live animals and their products.
Veterinarians work in a variety of environments, including private veterinary practices, animal hospitals, farms, research laboratories, and wildlife facilities. Their work often involves direct interaction with animals, requiring physical strength and stamina. They may be exposed to animal bites, scratches, and diseases. The job can be emotionally demanding, particularly when dealing with sick or injured animals and their distressed owners. Veterinarians often work long hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays, especially those in emergency care or large animal practices. Fieldwork may involve traveling to farms, homes, or other locations to provide care.
To become a veterinarian, one must obtain a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) degree from an accredited veterinary college. This requires a strong foundation in the sciences, typically gained through an undergraduate degree in biology, animal science, or a related field. Admission to veterinary school is highly competitive and usually requires excellent academic performance, relevant experience, and strong recommendations.
Veterinary education includes extensive coursework in animal anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and surgery, as well as hands-on clinical training. After obtaining a DVM degree, veterinarians must pass a national licensing exam, and additional state or regional exams may be required. Some veterinarians choose to pursue further specialization through internships, residencies, and board certification in fields such as surgery, internal medicine, or exotic animal care.
Continuing education is essential to keeping up with advancements in veterinary medicine and maintaining licensure. Membership in professional organizations, such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) or the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), can provide valuable resources, networking opportunities, and professional development.
ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:
the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.
Official veterinarian is a Skill level 4 occupation.
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of official veterinarian.
Biosecurity related to animals: Awareness of hygiene and bio-security measures when working with animals, including causes, transmission and prevention of diseases and use of policies, materials and equipment.
Signs of animal illness: Physical, behavioural and environmental signs of health and ill health in various animals.
Animal welfare legislation: The legal boundaries, codes of professional conduct, national and EU regulatory frameworks and legal procedures of working with animals and living organisms, ensuring their welfare and health.
Animal production science: Animal nutrition, agronomy, rural economics, animal husbandry, hygiene and bio-security, ethology, protection and herd health management.
Animal welfare: Universally recognized animal welfare needs as applied to species, situation and occupation. These are:
need for a suitable environment
need for a suitable diet
need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
need to be housed with, or apart, from other animals
need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Physiology of animals: The study of the mechanical, physical, bioelectrical and biochemical functioning of animals, their organs and their cells.
Fundamental veterinary sciences: Veterinary anatomy, histology, embryology, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, pharmacology, pharmacy, toxicology, microbiology, immunology, epidemiology and professional ethics.
Safe work practices in a veterinary setting: Safe work practices in a veterinary setting in order to identify hazards and associated risks so as to prevent accidents or incidents. This includes injury from animals, zoonotic diseases, chemicals, equipment and working environment.
Veterinary clinical sciences: Aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnosis and treatment of common diseases and disorders. This includes veterinary areas such as propaedeutics, clinical and anatomic pathology, microbiology, parasitology, clinical medicine and surgery (including anaesthetics), preventive medicine, diagnostic imaging, animal reproduction and reproductive disorders, veterinary state medicine and public health, veterinary legislation and forensic medicine, and therapeutics.
Anatomy of animals: The study of animal body parts, their structure and dynamic relationships, on a level as demanded by the specific occupation.
Animal behaviour: The natural behavioural patterns of animals, i.e. how normal and abnormal behaviour might be expressed according to species, environment, human-animal interaction and occupation.
Perform laboratory testing on samples of animals: Conduct and interprete simple procedures in a veterinary practice laboratory on samples of an animal intended to detect, identify, or quantify disease agents, evaluate organ functions, or determine the nature of a disease.
Manage animal biosecurity: Plan and use appropriate biosafety measures to prevent disease transmission and ensure effective overall biosecurity. Maintain and follow biosecurity procedures and infection control when working with animals, including recognising potential health issues and taking appropriate action, communicating site hygiene control measures and biosecurity procedures, and reporting to others.
Advise on livestock disease control: Advise livestock owners of the economic aspects of disease eradication. Advise consumers of public health implications of diseases transmissible from animals to humans.
Perform inspections of food-processing plants: Perform inspection activities at an abattoir or at a group of miscellaneous meat processing or handling establishments. Inspect establishments engaged in slaughtering livestock and processing meat. Examine animals and carcasses before and after slaughtering to detect evidence of disease or other abnormal conditions. Determine that ingredients used in processing and marketing meat and meat products comply with governmental standards of purity and grading.
Assess animal’s condition: Inspect the animal for any external signs of parasites, disease or injury. Use this information to determine own actions and report your findings to owners.
Perform inspection analysis: Investigate and report on inspection procedures, techniques, equipment and materials.
Issue certificates for animal products: Issue certificates related to animal health and welfare or to animal products, based on the necessary examination or testing, in accordance with the principles of certification agreed at European level.
Regulate animal health standards: Develop, inspect and enforce animal health standards required for interstate and international commerce of livestock and livestock products, and for public health.
Manage animal hygiene: Plan and use appropriate hygiene measures to prevent disease transmission and ensure effective overall hygiene. Maintain and follow hygiene procedures and regulations when working with animals. Communicate site hygiene controls and protocols to others. Manage the safe disposal of waste according to destination and local regulations.
Apply veterinary epidemiology: Analyse animal and zoonotic disease morbidity and mortality in a given population and relate findings to the norm. This includes collection and analysis of data and information for use in individual animals, groups or more widely as part of a network of disease surveillance. Implement intervention and control measures.
Develop media strategy: Create a strategy for the type of content to be delivered to the target groups and which media to use, taking into account the characteristics of the target audience and the media that will be used for content delivery.
Handle veterinary emergencies: Handle unforeseen incidents concerning animals and circumstances which call for urgent action in an appropriate professional manner.
Perform veterinary diagnosis: Identify and determine the physiological status of animals and the nature and cause of diseases in animals through evaluation of patient history, clinical examination, and the selection, taking and reviewing of confirmatory imaging, laboratory and other ancillary test data.
Monitor the welfare of animals: Monitor animals’ physical condition and behaviour and report any concerns or unexpected changes, including signs of health or ill-health, appearance, condition of the animals’ accommodation, intake of food and water and environmental conditions.
Advise on animal welfare: Prepare and provide information to individuals or groups of people on how to promote the health and well-being of animals, and how risks to animal health and welfare may be reduced. Provide recommendations for corrective actions.
Deal with challenging people: Work safely and communicate effectively with individuals and groups of people who are in challenging circumstances. This would include recognition of signs of aggression, distress, threatening and how to address them to promote personal safety and that of others.
Develop zoonotic disease control policies: Carry out research and elaborate policies, guidelines, and strategies for the control of zoonotic and foodborne diseases.
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of official veterinarian. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
Environmental enrichment for animals: Types, methods and use of enrichment for animals to allow the expression of natural behaviour, including the provision of environmental stimuli, feeding activities, puzzles, items for manipulation, social and training activities.
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of official veterinarian. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
Understand the animal’s situation: Categorise and verify information about the environment and its impact on the animal. Analyse the situation, such as what the animal may want or need.
Collaborate with animal related professionals: Collaborate with veterinary and other animal-related professionals through the communication of animal details, case records and summary reports orally or via written or electronic transfer.
Provide mentorship: Guide and support less knowledgeable or less experienced colleagues.
Calculate rates per hours: Make simple calculations regarding the money that should be earned in relation to the number of hours worked.
Use different communication channels: Use various types of communication channels, such as verbal, handwritten, digital, and telephonic communication, to construct and share ideas or information.
Apply numeracy skills: Practise reasoning and apply simple or complex numerical concepts and calculations.
Apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting: Apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting in order to identify hazards and associated risks so as to prevent accidents or incidents. This includes injury from animals, zoonotic diseases, chemicals, equipment and work environments.
Interview animal owners on animals’ conditions: Ask questions appropriate to the setting and purpose, with the aim to elicit accurate information on the animal’s health condition, in order to facilitate a correct diagnosis.
Develop an animal handling strategy: Develop plans and strategies for handling the animal in order to achieve established goals and optimal results.
Manage infection control in the facility: Implement a set of measures to prevent and control infections, formulating and establishing health and safety procedures and policies.
Provide animal training: Provide training in basic handling, habituation, and obedience to enable the completion of day-to-day tasks while minimising the risks to the animal, the handler, and others.
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