Filling the Vet Gap: Foreign Vets Recruited to Nourish German Fields
Foreign Veterans Sought Due to Skills Deficit - Consulted on Proposed Directive for Animal and Environmental Protection
We're talking about more than just a shortage of doctors in the countryside; it's the spaniel side of things too! Veterinary practices are left void for months on end due to unfilled positions, leading to an increase in foreign veterinarians being welcomed into the fold. Matthias Link from Varrel, Kirchdorf, has been employing a pair of foreign vets—one from Iran and another from Turkey—since 2024.
Asal Ilkhani Zadeh, a 30-year-old from Tehran, took on the village of Sulingen, sharing that adapting to the local dialect was initially challenging, especially when farmers were so emotionally invested in their animals.
Both Zadeh and her companion, a 33-year-old Mohammad Ranjbar from Tabriz, spoke about the work not being too dissimilar from their homeland, and Zadeh, in particular, found herself learning special terms like milk fever and stone calf directly from the farmers. Ranjbar confessed to relishing the serenity of the northern countryside, along with the warm-hearted locals.
A grim statistic on the horizon: with 3,000 practice owners expected to retire over the next decade due to age, the need for fresh hands is just around the corner. Dr. Link, a seasoned 61-year-old and operator of his practice for 28 years, shared how he is constantly seeking additional help, estimating he would require one and a half to two new colleagues to maintain his current workload.
The Lower Saxony government is moving towards a faster process for recognizing foreign veterinary qualifications given the looming crisis. However, the proposal has been delayed in the Bundesrat, according to Agriculture Minister Miriam Staudte (Greens). The problem isn't exclusive to veterinary practices; veterinary offices alike are grappling with staff shortages.
As it stand, the Lower Saxony Chamber of Veterinarians counted 6,819 members in the last year, with 324 of those hailing from a foreign nation, constituting 4.8% of the total. There are currently 22 applications for foreign vet licenses, primarily from Ukraine, Iran, and Turkey.
Staudte suggests a knowledge test in lieu of rigorous document checks to expedite the recognition of foreign degrees, useful in cases where documents are inaccessible due to refugee status. The Lower Saxony Chamber of Veterinarians deems the only immediate solution to be bolstering staff through foreign hires, as a significant number of practice owners in the state are nearing retirement.
Matthias Link has previously employed vets from a mix of nations, including Iran, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, and Guinea-Bissau. Many have since established their own practices, a testament to Link's satisfaction with his foreign staff. Though applications are hard to come by, Link emphasizes that the main challenge is communication—the heart of 80% of the profession, as he puts it.
- Iran
- Turkey
- Lower Saxony
- Germany
- Tehran
- Tabriz
- Veterinary Shortage
- Foreign Qualification Recognition
- Disease Control
[1] Lower Saxony Professional Qualifications Assessment Act[2] Academics.com for finding jobs in Germany
- The lack of veterinarians in rural Germany has led to an increase in foreign veterinarians from countries such as Iran and Turkey being employed to fill these vacancies, like Asal Ilkhani Zadeh and Mohammad Ranjbar, both of whom have faced challenges adapting to the local dialect.
- The Lower Saxony government is working towards recognizing foreign veterinary qualifications more quickly in response to the looming veterinary shortage, and has suggested a knowledge test as an alternative to rigorous document checks, particularly for refugees, similar to agriculture graduate Abiola from Guinea-Bissau who is now employed in Lower Saxony, Germany.
