31103 Veterinarians

What this occupation covers

Veterinarians prevent, diagnose and treat diseases and disorders in animals and advise clients on the feeding, hygiene, housing and general care of animals. They can also perform surgical procedures. They work in private practice or may be employed by animal clinics, farms, laboratories, government or industry.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 10 main duties for this code.

• Diagnose diseases or abnormal conditions in individual animals, herds and flocks through physical examinations or laboratory tests
• Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds or performing surgery
• Vaccinate animals to prevent and treat diseases
• Perform routine, emergency and post-mortem examinations
• Advise clients on feeding, housing, behaviour, breeding, hygiene and general care of animals
• Provide a range of veterinary services including obstetrics, dentistry and euthanasia
• May supervise animal health technologists and animal care workers
• May be responsible for overall operation of animal hospital, clinic or mobile service to farms
• May conduct veterinary research related to areas such as animal nutrition, health care products development and disease prevention and control
• May enforce government regulations in disease control and food production including animal or animal-based food inspection.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 10 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 32104 Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians
• 21110 Biologists and related scientists

Excluded from this code

• Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians (See 32104 Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians)
• Biologists and related scientists (See 21110 Biologists and related scientists)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

animal behavior veterinarian · animal pathologist · avian veterinarian · companion animal veterinarian · doctor of veterinary medicine · emergency and intensive care veterinarian · equine veterinarian · farm veterinarian · food animal veterinarian · laboratory animal veterinarian · large animal veterinary internist · poultry veterinarian · preventive medicine veterinarian · research veterinarian · small animal veterinarian · small animal veterinary internist · small animal veterinary specialist · veterinarian · veterinarian practitioner · veterinary anatomist · Veterinary anesthesiologist · veterinary bacteriologist · veterinary dentist · veterinary dermatologist

Employment requirements

• Doctor of veterinary medicine
• Two years of pre-veterinary university studies or completion of a college program in health science and a four to five year university degree in veterinary medicine and successful completion of an examination leading to a national certification are required.
• A provincial licence to practice is required.
• Veterinary specialists
• Completion of a degree in veterinary medicine and three to four years of additional postgraduate studies or residency program in the specialty of their choice are required.
• Veterinary specialists must be accredited by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) or the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). In Quebec, they must be accredited by the Ordre des médecins vétérinaires du Québec and only 18 specialties are recognized.
• A provincial license to practice is required.
• Research veterinarian
• Entry into research positions may require postgraduate study.