Animal advocates and veterinarians have expressed deep concern about delays in appointing a new veterinary board, charging that the absence of a regulatory body prevents effective crackdown on fake vets in the industry and negatively impacts the work of legitimate professionals in the field.

Reports are that Jamaica has been without a veterinary board for five months. The regulatory body, which falls under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining, is responsible for certifying vets across the island, all of whom have not been certified for 2025 due to the delay.

Dr Sarah Wilkinson-Eytle, a former board member, said the issue has personally affected her business. She complained that during a visit to her bank she was told that she needed an updated certificate to add to the file on her company’s business account because her certificate had expired. However, she could not get one since there was no board in place to issue her certification.

Dr Sarah Wilkinson-Eytle, former member of the Jamaica Veterinary Board

She said customers have also visited her establishment and asked about her expired certification, interactions she described as embarrassing.

“Eventually, I did ask the registrar about it. I put my questions to her and she said they could issue me a letter. So she wrote to the bank and copied it to me saying that I am registered to practise and I am fully in fulfilment with all my requirements,” said Wilkinson-Eytle.

She said the letter was accepted by the bank but noted that the issue requires a proper resolution.

“I have nothing to hang on my wall, and none of us have been gazetted. The law requires that you be gazetted by the end of May of the year, and there has been no publication of a gazette, and we are in June,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

She said the situation is particularly concerning as it relates to the rise of fake vets within the industry.

“It’s a continual fight that we have with these people who are partially trained, and who go on YouTube and so on and learn a couple things,” she said.

Dr Wilkinson-Eytle said she has worked with animal welfare groups who have tried to raise public awareness about this issue and said the certifications are needed to ensure this method is effective.

“It kind of makes for nonsense if you don’t even have a list that is properly certified by the Government, so what do you tell the public? Right now we are just weeks into the critical part of the year, but how long does this go on? We need for the system to work smoothly so that we can act credibly and with confidence and say to the public this is a registered and certified veterinarian, and these people are not,” she insisted.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining Floyd Green said the matter is before the Cabinet and a new board should be in place before the end of the week.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green said the matter of appointing a new veterinary board is before Cabinet.

“There is a usual process of consultation with the association and then a process of ensuring the board aligns with the requirements regarding the number of female members, and number of retained members. Sometimes that is more challenging for technical-based boards, but that process is now complete,” he said in relation to the delay.

In relation to the matter of fake vets, the minister said he will request that the new board engages in a communication campaign to ensure people know how to verify if their vet has the requisite qualifications. He noted that no public reports regarding fake vets have been made since the start of the year.

However, chairman of Animal Welfare Advocacy Group (AWAG) Dr Blossom O’Meally-Nelson said she has received reports about fake vets in Jamaica.

Dr Blossom O’Meally-Nelson, chairman of Animal Welfare Advocacy Group (AWAG)

She said that she received one report of a woman who unknowingly went to an illegal vet, who swindled her when she attempted to spay her dogs.

“He came and took the dogs and said he’s going to spay them, you spay the female dogs, and you neuter the male dogs, so he said he spayed them, but the woman couldn’t find him and she couldn’t find her dog. Eventually he brought back the young one, but he did nothing and he took the money,” said O’Meally-Nelson.

She said the woman did not report the incident out of fear of being killed and there are similar instances like this across the island.

“Most people are afraid, but the majority of them don’t know that these people are not legal. They are all in Portland and St Mary and around the place and, because they offer them the service cheaper, people take a chance and they let them look after their farm animals as well. These people do surgery, and I don’t know where they get off doing surgery and mutilate animals,” said the animal advocate.

She said there is an urgent need to investigate these matters and ensure that people are educated on what to look for when seeking a legitimate veterinarian.

The advocate shared that her organisation partners with the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) to carry out a spay and neuter programme. However, the lack of a veterinary board means that international vets who come to Jamaica annually for the programme cannot be certified to operate.

“The spay and neuter animal programme is important for animal control and population control of dogs and cats. We are planning a programme later this year, which means that volunteers will come down from the US and work with our local team to do spay and neuter across the country.

“These volunteers have to be registered. It’s like a temporary work permit that they have to have and the Ministry of Agriculture is the ministry that the law falls under, and they would have to do that through their Veterinary Services Division and the Jamaica Veterinary Board, which is the regulatory body,” she explained.

She further noted that individuals have also completed training programmes and cannot receive their accreditation.

“From 2024 they didn’t complete the certifications, so some are not certified for 2024 and they’re not certified for 2025, and this is June. These are people’s professions you are fooling around with,” said O’Meally Nelson.