Foreign Vets to the Rescue: Alleviating the Veterinary Shortage in Lower Saxony
Foreign veterinarians are being hired to address a shortage in qualified professionals. - Consultation Conducted on Draft Directive Regarding Animal and Environmental Safeguards
Y'all know about the doc shortage in rural areas, but it ain't just humans feelin' the crunch. Vet clinics in rural Lower Saxony, Germany are struggling to fill vacant positions, leaving numerous positions unfilled for months on end. That's why some savvy practice owners, like Matthias Link of Varrel near Kirchdorf, are lookin' overseas to find the help they need.
Link's got a veritable global team of vets, with both Asal Ilkhani Zadeh (a 30-year-old from Tehran, Iran) and Mohammad Ranjbar (a 33-year-old from Tabriz, northern Iran) working in his practice since 2024. While the German language was a steep learning curve at first, these vet stars are rollin' with the punches and doing a bang-up job.
Their day-to-day work ain't too different from what they'd find back home—Zadeh focuses on small animals while Ranjbar handles livestock. But that's not to say they ain't learnin' a few new tricks along the way. On their first barn visits in Varrel, they picked up local jargon like "milk fever," "stone calf," and "farrowing" straight from the farmers themselves. And Ranjbar's loving his new digs in northern Germany: "I dig the peace and nature here, and the cool folks too."
There's a massive exodus of vets on the horizon, with at least 3,000 practicing vets set to retire nationwide over the next ten years. As a self-employed vet, Link himself is sweatin' the workload, needin' one and a half to two new colleagues to keep up with the grind.
The Lower Saxony state government's hopin' to speed things up by expediting the process for recognizing foreign veterinary qualifications in the face of this loomin' personnel crisis. Although progress has been slow in the Bundesrat, Green Party Minister of Agriculture Miriam Staudte is pushin' for a knowledge test instead of the usual document checks, which would make it easier for vets to accept these gigs given various circumstances.
Staff shortages aren't just hitting practice owners—veterinary offices are feelin' the heat too. As it turns out, it ain't just about keepin' critters in tip-top shape, but also about disease control, feed, and food safety.
The Lower Saxony Chamber of Veterinarians had 6,819 members last year, with a paltry 4.8% composed of non-German citizens. However, there are currently 22 applications for licensing from so-called third countries (like Iran, Ukraine, and Turkey). Link himself's got a bit of a global crew, havin' previously employed vets from Iran, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, and Guinea-Bissau. Many of 'em have since struck out on their own, opening up their own practices.
Link's expressin' concern over the situation: "I ain't gettin' no takers for job posts anymore." At the same time, demand for veterinary care, particularly for pets, is risin'—often due to medical advancements that extend pets' lives. The secret sauce, Link believes, is a killer combination of expertise and the right language skills: "Eighty percent of our job is psychology—it's the same for almost all jobs that involve people."
- Iran
- Germany
- Staffing Shortages
- Pets
- Medical Advancements
- Language Skills
Fun Fact:
Did you know that Germany's collaborations with other countries, like the German-Asian Forum, aim to connect skilled professionals and trainers with Germany’s vocational education and training (VET) systems? This initiative could potentially support the integration of foreign veterinarians into the German workforce, shine some light on the brotherhood of vets, and keep the cats and dogs of Lower Saxony purring and wagging like never before!
The German-Asian Forum aims to connect skilled professionals, like foreign veterinarians, with Germany’s vocational education and training (VET) systems, potentially supporting their integration into the workforce.
The rising demand for pet veterinary care, often due to medical advancements that extend pets' lives, is exacerbating staffing shortages in rural Lower Saxony, highlighting the importance of language skills in attracting foreign vets.
