The Israeli Veterinary Doctors Association warned on Thursday that the country’s veterinary services have reached a breaking point and that the damage to the system is not a theoretical complaint but an immediate danger requiring urgent structural change. The warning came after Dr. Tamir Geshen, head of the veterinary services in the Agriculture Ministry, sent a resignation letter to staff saying he would end his eight-year tenure and describing systemic problems inside the organization.
In his letter, Geshen said the veterinary services had faced major outbreaks in recent years, including rabies, avian influenza that hit egg-laying poultry farms in the north, foot-and-mouth disease, and brucellosis in cattle and sheep. He also pointed to administrative and budgetary pressures, including headquarters consolidation, disputes with Agriculture Ministry management, and cuts in staffing and funding, which he said threaten the service’s ability to carry out its responsibilities.
Association chairman Dr. Michael Ettinger said the warning comes from within the system itself and should be taken as a serious signal. He argued that weakening the veterinary services’ independence, budget, staffing, veterinary institute, and field network directly harms public health, food security, and Israeli agriculture. The association said veterinary services are the country’s first line of defense against animal diseases, zoonotic diseases, emerging diseases, food safety incidents, and biological risks.
The group said the situation is especially serious in the domestic pet sector, which it said includes about 1.5 million animals. It said there is currently no dedicated professional representative, a specialist veterinarian, leading the field nationally, and it said the same gap exists in livestock. According to the association, this creates major weaknesses in areas such as rabies control, stray dogs, bite incidents, animal welfare, supervision of animal shelters, and emergency preparedness. It urged the government to immediately strengthen the veterinary services, reinforce field offices, build advanced epidemiological information systems, appoint experts with regulatory authority, and draft a long-term national plan against biological threats and disease.
