About Zoological Veterinary
Medicine
What is Zoological Veterinary Medicine?
Zoological Veterinary Medicine (Zoo Med for short) is a specialization in the broad field of veterinary medicine. Veterinary Medicine refers to the field of study which is focused on animal medicine and animal health. It covers all classes of animals, including reptiles, fish, mammals, etc. Some parts of vet med are more popular than others, the most well known being Small Animal Medicine, and Livestock Medicine. Both fields are incredibly important, but there are other specializations that don’t get as much recognition, including zoo med. In Zoo Medicine, veterinarians focus on “the care and study of wild, captive or semi-captive animals”, as stated by Cornell University. North Carolina State University says that Zoo Medicine “includes a number of different areas, including exotic animal private practice, aquatic animal medicine, wildlife medicine, and zoo practice”, and the variety of this specialization is the beauty of it!
Below are some important sources that allow for a deeper dive into Zoo Medicine and a better understanding of what the field is/ what the profession entails.
This source focuses more on the science aspect of Zoo Medicine, and provides details of veterinarian’s experiences doing different treatments
This source from the NC State University is centered around providing information on the training/education required to be a zoo vet. There is a general overview, as well as a course guide (which can vary depending on the college).
This source provides a great general overview of the field. It also has information on the education plan for zoo vets, and interesting news stories in the field.
This is a great source to get information from Veterinarians with real-world experiences. They talk about what they’ve come across and all their different cases, which is a really eye-opening read.