Veterinary surgeries by sector

The number of veterinary surgeries is a factor which has a direct effect on the number of potential employers for veterinary assistants. The sector of activity will determine the number of veterinary assistants they are likely to employ. It can be assumed that surgeries treating pets have a higher potential for employing veterinary assistants than mixed practice surgeries, due to the nature of daily care for the animals. Mixed practices are often situated in rural zones and employ less assistants as the work is more complex, necessitating a degree in veterinary medicine. The following figures are presented as absolute and percentage values for comparisons to be made between countries.

 

 

N°	Country	DK	ES	FI	FR	HU	PT	RO	SI	SK	UK
42	Vets' surgeries for pets	300	5000	321	3405	400	1800	300	11	824	2100
43	Mixed practice vets' surgeries	300	1000	388	1718	1500	700	1070	71	824	1000
44	Others	0	0	0	577	0	0	0	0	0	0
45	% Vets' surgeries for pets	50	83	45	60	21	72	22	13	100	58
46	% Mixed practice vets' surgeries	50	17	55	30	79	28	78	87	100	27
47	% Others	0	0	0	10	0	0	0	0	0	0

Analysis of the figures for the total number of veterinary surgeries shows that the country with the most veterinary surgeries is Spain with 6000. In France and Spain, the number of veterinary surgeries is almost 5000, with 3650 in the United Kingdom. Considering the number of cats and dogs in this country, it would appear that the availability of veterinary treatment is more concentrated.

Next are countries like Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia with a situation comparable to that in Romania. The % of mixed practice surgeries is also greater than the % of surgeries veterinary practices specialising in pets.

Denmark and Finland are an intermediary group from the point of view of the type of veterinary practices found, between highly urbanised countries (France, Spain, the United Kingdom) and more rural countries (Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia). An average proportion of 50% of mixed practice surgeries and pet surgeries is found in Denmark and Finland.

Finally there are very few veterinary surgeries in Slovenia.