Following a revelation that there is a significant number of veterinarians serving in areas where their services are less needed, the Ministry of Agriculture is to transfer them to other areas, The Daily Morning learns.

A meeting between Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA) was held yesterday (3). During the meeting, the SLVA had pointed out that a considerable number of veterinarians are serving in several parts of the country, particularly in the Western Province (WP), where there is no significant requirement for their services. As the veterinarians have not been allocated on a priority basis, they claimed that it has become very difficult for them to provide services in many parts of the country. They requested the Ministry to look into the matter and to take appropriate actions at a time when the country is seeing a shortage of veterinarians.

Considering their request, Amaraweera has instructed the Ministry Secretary, Gunadasa Samarasinghe to take steps to transfer such veterinarians to areas where there is a higher requirement for their services.

Meanwhile, the Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader Sajith Premadasa recently proposed that a programme be launched to get the veterinarians in the relevant areas to check the condition of privately-owned animals such as elephants, for instance, on a monthly basis. Claiming that veterinarians are currently leaving the country in the prevailing economic crisis, he urged the Government to work to retain them, and recruit more of them.

In response, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said that the Government was finding it difficult to recruit veterinarians in the current situation. However, she assured that the relevant recruitments would be made as soon as the economic situation is strengthened.