Jobs for Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine Graduates

Caring for animals and public health

The Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine is a five-year degree offered by a small number of Kenyan universities. It trains veterinary surgeons in animal anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, surgery, reproduction, epidemiology and public health. Livestock is central to Kenyan livelihoods, from dairy in the highlands to pastoralism in the arid north, and vets also protect people by controlling diseases that pass from animals to humans and by ensuring food safety.

Registration

Veterinary surgeons are regulated by the Kenya Veterinary Board under the Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Para-professionals Act, 2011. You must be registered and hold a current practising licence to practise, and veterinary clinics and premises are also licensed. The board sets continuing professional development requirements.

Where vets work

• County veterinary officer roles, since animal health and disease control are largely devolved
• Private large-animal practice serving dairy and livestock farmers
• Small-animal clinics in towns, treating pets
• Pharmaceutical, feed and animal health companies in technical and sales roles
• Research institutions, international livestock research centres and NGOs working on livestock and pastoralist programmes
• Meat inspection, food safety and export certification roles

Entry requirements

Places are allocated through KUCCPS. Veterinary medicine requires strong KCSE performance, typically well above the C+ minimum, with good grades in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics or Physics.

Building experience

Practical skills, from handling and restraining animals to surgery, artificial insemination and pregnancy diagnosis, make new vets employable. Spending time with established practices during holidays and attachments is invaluable, and willingness to work in rural areas, often with long distances between farms, widens your options considerably. A driving licence is essential.

Career path

Many vets start in county service or as assistants in private practice, then specialise or open their own practice. Postgraduate study in epidemiology, public health, pathology or animal production opens research, regulatory and international careers. Vets with business skills also move into the animal health and feed industry, which offers management roles.