TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) attended the 53rd Veterinary Day in New Taipei on Monday, delivering a keynote speech addressing the state of the profession and the shortage of publicly employed veterinarians.

Lai thanked veterinarians across Taiwan for their frontline role in epidemic prevention and their efforts to promote food safety and hygiene among farmers. He credited their hard work for keeping Taiwan free of both foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever, according to CNA.

Lai also praised veterinarians for their care of pets. He cited event organizer data showing Taiwan has 1.5 million pet dogs and over 1 million cats, a total exceeding the number of children under 14 in the country. The prevalence of pets, Lai said, underscores the importance of veterinary care, as neglected pets could spread infectious diseases.

Lai emphasized that a country's greatness is not solely determined by its land, population, or military strength, but also by its level of civilization, which includes how it cares for animals.

Currently, there are only 4,000 to 5,000 practicing veterinarians in Taiwan, a figure Lai deemed insufficient. Publicly employed veterinarians are even scarcer, with county and city governments reporting staffing shortages of about 40%.

To address the disparity, Lai proposed providing bonuses to publicly employed veterinarians to close the income gap between them and those in private practice. He urged his administration to develop a plan to address the issue.

Later, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) echoed Lai’s pledge, promising that the Cabinet would comply with the request and formulate a plan to offer more support to veterinarians working in the public sector.