§ Mr. Lipsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what plans he has made to secure more adequate staffing in the Colonial Veterinary Service.
§ Mr. George Hall:So far as adequate staffing is dependent upon adequate pay, prospects and status for veterinary 133W officers,.I am in consultation with a number of Colonial Governments and with the National Veterinary Medical Association with regard to certain improvements in existing conditions which may be advisable and I hope that as a result the recruiting situation will improve. There is, however, an Empire-wide shortage of qualified veterinarians which is not likely to be resolved in the immediate future. With the general object of providing the necessary post-graduate training for candidates for the Colonial Veterinary Service, there has been in existence for several years a scheme for giving scholarships to newly qualified veterinarians to fit them for the special duties of veterinary officers in the tropics, and also to selected science graduates to enable them to take the Diploma of Membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. A training school has been in existence for a number of years at Entebbe in Uganda, and African graduates from this school are already at work in East Africa. About three years ago a veterinary training school was started at Vom in Nigeria with assistance under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act.