Private vets to take over rabies vaccination role

Private veterinary clinics will start giving anti-rabies vaccinations to dogs and cats as the government moves to close its special vaccination clinic by the end of the year.

The Department of Agriculture announced the policy change to the use of accredited private veterinarians instead of the service being offered exclusively by government, with vets allowed to set their own fees for the service.

But the department said it would continue to provide rabies vaccination services to dog and cat owners in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Dr. Andreea Sleahtenea of mobile veterinary surgery My Home Vet, welcomed the policy change and explained it would mean faster and more convenient access to the vaccinations, required only if dogs are taken overseas temporarily as Cayman is rabies-free.

She explained that the government clinic, at the agriculture department’s Lower Valley, Bodden Town headquarters, was only open for two-and-a-half hours two afternoons a week.

Sleahtenea said, “With the population of the Islands increasing, they were struggling a little bit to keep up with the numbers.”

She added, “The appointments were taken up weeks and weeks in advance. Now clinics and mobile vets can do them, it makes it a lot easier for people to get their pets vaccinated.”

Vets training course

Sleahtenea was speaking after the government announced the change on 8 Oct.

The vet, who has 17 years of experience in the profession, has already undergone a government training course, which covers the documentation and notification process for vaccinations to be submitted to the government.

Sleahtenea said that, as the agriculture department’s vaccinations had been heavily subsidised and the $25 charge had not changed for years, prices would go up to reflect increased costs.

She said her own mobile practice would charge $60 a vaccination, but that other vets’ prices might be different.

Sleahtenea said, “We’re issuing rabies vaccination certificates with specific numbers and, when people do travel, vets have to submit a photograph and a description of the animal to the department.”

She added, “Now, with private practitioners bringing in the vaccines, the price has gone up a bit, but everyone will set their own prices. The price will go up, but the convenience and ease of getting them makes it worth it.”

Demand for vaccinations

Sleahtenea added there was a steady demand for the vaccinations as people often wanted to travel with their pets and her practice dealt with an average of three or four pet export visits a week.

She added, across every veterinary practice in Cayman, that would amount to “a significant number of people” travelling with a pet every year.

Sleahtenea highlighted, “The pet must also be microchipped before administration of the vaccine as a way of identifying the animal for sure. If they aren’t microchipped, that can be done at the time of vaccination.”

The agriculture department said it would still retain “regulatory and animal health oversight” under the new system, with “clear accreditation requirements” for veterinarians. The certification will be valid for two years.

It added, “Only accredited veterinarians may complete pet health certificates. Certificates must still be submitted to the Department of Agriculture for issuance of the export permit.”