Posted on: 06/15/08

From Boston.com by Robert Gavin

Commissioned by Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Massachusetts’ Donahue Institute released a study reporting that veterinary medicine generates more than $3 billion in economic activity in New England.  The study states that the veterinary industry in New England employs 20,000 persons and supports 12,000, playing a major role in the state’s biotechnology region.   Because over half of livestock veterinarians are older than 50, the study predicts a shortage of more than 600 veterinarians by 2014 due to retirement.