Five women make up core veterinarian team at SeaWorld Orlando

Women hold jobs too, really? And they’re *good* at them? I didn’t know that, thanks for sharing this “news” story.

And thank you for your topical and exceptional insight, as usual.

This didn’t come as a shock to me, either. But maybe I actually have a little snark-free insight to add.

Veterinary medicine these days is becoming a female-led field. Some vet colleges report that in the last ten years their applicants and enrollees have shifted to as much as 80% female and 20% male. Currently the ratio of practicing veterinarians is about 50/50 and the emphasis is in treating small animals in urban/suburban areas. The greatest shortage continues to be in the area of large-animal care in rural areas. The number of female doctors is increasing there as well, and I’d assume a lot of Sea World’s patients fall into that category.

I know a guy with excellent grades and practical experience who applied to vet school a number of years ago and was turned away. At the time there was a dearth of female applicants and they felt compelled to accept them over qualified males. Now that has reversed.

Finally, women continue to make less than their male counterparts in the business. 5 years ago it was reported that females averaged around 88,000 a year while males averaged 115,000.

My former girlfriend (which long-time listeners may recall from the podcast) went to vet school at OSU, and I recall it was extremely competitive. It's also not easy to complete. It leaned female even then. I also recall her saying that large-animal was a big deal.

For all of the nonsense around allegations of mistreatment, the reality is that there are extraordinary doctors like these who are ultimately responsible for the health of these animals. Same thing at Animal Kingdom. I've met a number of them from both, and it's amazing to meet people scientifically inclined who are also compassionate for their patients. If people want to have the discussion about the morality of keeping captive animals, cool, have that discussion, but don't engage in this bull**** suggesting that the animals are being mistreated.

It is still extremely competitive and school is costly. Like med school, only without a residency.
The largest college enrollment is currently at The Ohio State University and I was surprised to see the total at around 160. That seems low. The closest big schools hit in the 140’s.

Im generally in favor of keeping/returning animals to the wild, but certainly see the value in responsible captivity programs like those at Sea World and Busch. It’s increasingly clear that their responsibilities and ideals are in the right place.
It’s educational and life saving for animals and entire species. Especially in a world where so many people don’t give a crap and seek profit at the absolute expense of animals.

A wise woman once sang this amazing line - who run the world....girls!!!

And they just wanna have fun