Chapter 9 Appendix I: Location and Responsibilities of Veterinarians in the Federal Government

United States Government Accountability Office

Number of veterinarians by department

Number of veterinarians by component agency or other entity^a

Examples of veterinarian responsibilities

Department of Agriculture

1,771

Animal and Plant

Health Inspection

Service

667

Protect American livest-ock and poultry health through diagnosis, control and eradication of animal diseases, and partnering with state officials to manage and eradicate disease outbreaks.

Some are employed overseas.

Food Safety and Inspection Service

1,043^b

Inspect livestock and poultry at slaughter plants to identify and examine diseased animals, and prev-ent their entry into the nation's food supply; det-ermine the significance of disease conditions and their potential hazard to public health; and may oversee total inspection operations.

(Continued)

Number of veterinarians by department	Number of veterinarians by component agency or other entity^a		Examples of veterinarian responsibilities
		Agricultural Research Service	57	Conduct critical research to develop solutions for high- priority agricultural problems, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza.
		Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service	4	Plan, develop, organize, and manage animal health related research, educati-on, and extension progr-ams in coordination with other federal agencies and national and international efforts.
Department of Defense	841	Army^c	753	Ensure food safety at Department of Defense locations; develop medical defenses against chemical and biological warfare threat agents; conduct intelligence work; and care for service animals.
Department of Defense		Air Force	88	Track infectious diseases among Air Force person-nel, oversee the health of Air Force personnel for deployment, and ensure food safety at Air Force bases.
Department of Health and Human Services^d	316	Food and Drug Administration	152	Ensure that animal food and drugs are safe and effective; that food from medically treated animals is safe to eat; and help ensure the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics, among other things.
Department of Health and Human Services^d		National Institutes of Health	85	Support all animal aspects of its intramural research program by providing regulatory oversight of research animals, provi-ding disease surveillance and diagnostics, managing the agency compliance office, and conducting conducting basic scientific and translational research.

(Continued)

Number of veterinarians by department	Number of veterinarians by component agency or other entity^a		Examples of veterinarian responsibilities

		Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	77	Work to identify, prevent, and control public health threats through applied epidemiology, laboratory animal medicine and toxicology, technical assis-tance and consultation, surveillance, field and clinical investigations, and human-animal interface research; support public health training and active- ities among state, local, tribal, and global health programs; provide expe-rtise in public health emergency preparedness and provide surge capa-city following public health disasters, global disease outbreaks, and terrorist attacks; and prevent importation at ports of entry of animals/ animal products that pose human health risks.
		Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response	2	Identifies, coordinates, and provides qualified veteran-ary medical personnel for events requiring emerge-ncy and disaster-related veterinary medical care services to impacted anim-al populations (including household pets and service animals) in or outside of shelter locations until local infrastructures are reestablished.
Department of Veterans Affairs	37	Office of Research and Development	37	Conduct research to imp-rove the health of veteran-ns and oversee the health and welfare of animals used in research.
Department of the Interior	24	U.S. Geological Survey	16	Investigate, diagnose, develop control methods, and develop databases for wildlife diseases; provide training to wildlife boil-ogists and resource managers in wildlife

(Continued)

Number of veterinarians by department	Number of veterinarians by component agency or other entity^a		Examples of veterinarian responsibilities
				dis-ease identification and control; conduct clinical veterinary research on wildlife diseases; and oversee the health and welfare of experimental and wild animals used in research, including rese-arch on wildlife diseases.
		U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service	4	Perform fish health management and diagnostic activities; conduct wildl-ife disease surveillance, diagnostics, and outbreak investigations; provide technical expertise; and draft policy, regulation, and management action plans.
		National Park Service	4	Prepare surveillance and contingency response pla-ns for addressing import-ant wildlife diseases in the park system; formul-ate policies for manage-ment of wildlife diseases.
Department of Homeland Security	16	Office of Health Affairs	8	Provide professional veterinary expertise and leadership to defend human and animal health and the nation's agriculture and food supply against terro-rist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.
Department of Homeland Security	16	Directorate for Science and Technology	6	Utilize knowledge and skills of disease movement, risk, and economic impacts of diseases to oversee programs regard-ing the safety of U.S. agriculture and food supply.
		Directorate for National Protection and Programs	2	Identify technologies and capabilities that can be used to help assure the protection of the nation's agriculture and food supp-ly from a terrorist attack.

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Number of veterinarians by department	Number of veterinarians by component agency or other entity^a		Examples of veterinarian responsibilities
Smithsonian	16	National Zoo	16	Protect the health of endangered species under the auspices of the Natio-nal Zoo and oversee the health of animals housed at the National Zoo; study disease dynamics and pathology of disease in endangered species; cond-uct research in endingered species conservation and propagation, and surveillance and research in emerging diseases of nondomestic animals include-ing wildlife; train veteri-narians and advance vete-rinary medical knowledge regarding zoo and wild animal species in the Uni-ted States and abroad; administer International Veterinary Training program.
Environmental Protection Agency	13		13	Assess the risks of pesticide use to humans and domestic animals, research the cancer risk of environmental chemicals, and improve the process for managing potential environmental carcinogens.
U.S. Agency for Interna-tional Develop-ment	8	Bureaus for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade; for Global Health; and for Africa	8	Provide guidance on iss-ues related to management of highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks and recovery; identify opportunities to share and leverage resources for avian influenza response efforts with international and domestic health agencies and universities.
Department of Commerce	9	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	9	Conduct audits of seafood plants and products as part of the Seafood Inspection Program; provide guidelines and oversight of the Marine
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration	Number of veterinarians by component agency or other entity^a		Examples of veterinarian responsibilities
Department of Energy				Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, Aquatic Animal Health Program, disease surveillance, health monitoring, outbreak investigations, and cont- aminants/pathogen/toxin/ health research.
Department of Justice	5	Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer	5	Provide and coordinate animal care at agency research facilities; one veterinarian is an astronaut.

Source: GAO analysis of agency survey responses and interviews.

^a We relied on federal agency officials to identify all veterinarians employed—civil and military service employees, contractors, and other—regardless of job title. The number of veterinarians reported for all agencies are as of June 30, 2008, except for the following: The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Army veterinary reserve corps are current as of the end of fiscal year 2008 and November 2008, respectively.

^b The number of veterinarians listed for FSIS include 968 veterinary medical officers, the majority of whom work at slaughter plants, as well as approximately 75 veterinarians who work in other occupations.

^c The Army veterinarian workforce consists of 446 active duty; 173 reserve corps; and 134 other.

^d The number of veterinarians listed for the Department of Health and Human Services does not include those United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps veterinarians working at the FSIS and the Environmental Protection Agency because they are counted as employees of those agencies.

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Source: Bennett Justin C.. Veterinarian Workforce Role in Defense Against Animal Disease. Nova Science Publishers,2010. — 130 p.. 2010

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