I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3886 
To expand the workforce of veterinarians specialized in the care and conserva-
tion of wild animals and their ecosystems, and to develop educational 
programs focused on wildlife and zoological veterinary medicine. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 2, 2012 
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. GRIMM, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. GRI-
JALVA, Mr. MORAN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. COHEN, 
Mr. KISSELL, Ms. BORDALLO, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in 
addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To expand the workforce of veterinarians specialized in the 
care and conservation of wild animals and their eco-
systems, and to develop educational programs focused 
on wildlife and zoological veterinary medicine. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be referred to as 
the ‘‘Wildlife Veterinarians Employment and Training 
Act’’ or the ‘‘Wildlife VET Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Purposes. 
Sec. 4. Definitions. 
Sec. 5. Implementing authority and cooperation between departments and agen-
cies. 
TITLE I—WILDLIFE AND ZOOLOGICAL VETERINARY MEDICINE 
WORKFORCE EXPANSION 
Sec. 101. Grants to create positions for wildlife and zoological veterinarians. 
Sec. 102. Loan repayment program for veterinary students and veterinarians 
specializing in wildlife and zoological populations. 
Sec. 103. Scholarship program for veterinary students specializing in wildlife 
and zoological populations. 
TITLE II—WILDLIFE AND ZOOLOGICAL VETERINARY MEDICINE 
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 
Sec. 201. Grants to accredited schools and colleges of veterinary medicine for 
curricula in wildlife and zoological veterinary medicine. 
Sec. 202. Grants to develop training programs in wildlife and zoological veteri-
nary medicine. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Fish and wildlife are important natural re-
sources of the United States. They belong to all citi-
zens, and are managed in perpetuity by State and 
Federal conservation agencies, often with significant 
assistance from universities, zoos, aquariums, and 
nonprofit and non-governmental organizations. 
(2) Wildlife and zoological veterinarians are the 
primary source of essential health care for wild ani-
mals in their natural habitat and in captivity in fa-
cilities such as zoos, wildlife refuges, breeding re-
serves, and aquariums. 
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(3) Wildlife and zoological veterinarians have 
the resources and expertise necessary to help re-
spond to environmental disasters and address short- 
term and long-term impacts on wildlife and their 
habitats. Wildlife and zoological veterinarians have 
proven to be essential to the rescue and rehabilita-
tion efforts in the Gulf of Mexico region following 
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that began on April 
20, 2010. 
(4) According to the Department of the Inte-
rior, wildlife disease expertise and resources are crit-
ical to protecting both human and animal life. 
(5) Wildlife veterinarians have been actively in-
volved in preventing, detecting, and responding to 
such important exotic, dangerous, and zoonotic dis-
eases as anthrax, avian influenza, brucellosis, tuber-
culosis, West Nile virus, SARS, chronic wasting dis-
ease, and foot and mouth disease. 
(6) Globalization, climate change, and wildlife 
habitat loss and alteration, along with a growing 
interface among humans, livestock, and wildlife have 
increased the threat posed by emerging infectious 
diseases to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. 
(7) According to the February 2009 report by 
the Government Accountability Office entitled ‘‘Vet-
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erinarian Workforce: Actions Are Needed to Ensure 
Sufficient Capacity for Protecting Public and Ani-
mal Health’’, the Nation is facing a growing short-
age of veterinarians, and the Federal Government 
may not have the necessary veterinarian workforce 
to control pandemic and large-scale outbreaks of dis-
ease. 
(8) There is a shortage of positions for wildlife 
and zoological veterinarians at the State, Federal, 
nonprofit, and university levels due to inadequate 
funding. According to the American Veterinary Med-
ical Association (‘‘AVMA’’), less than one percent of 
AVMA members identify themselves as wildlife or 
zoological veterinarians. 
(9) According to the AVMA, a growing number 
of students enter veterinary schools with an interest 
in wildlife or zoological veterinary medicine, but 
choose different fields of study and practice due to 
the small number of positions available for wildlife 
and zoological veterinarians upon graduation. 
(10) Veterinary students face large educational 
debt upon graduation. According to the AVMA, 
graduating student loan debt averaged $142,613 in 
2011, a 6.5 percent increase from 2010. 
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(11) According to the American Association of 
Wildlife Veterinarians (‘‘AAWV’’) and National As-
sociation of Federal Veterinarians (‘‘NAFV’’), sala-
ries for wildlife and zoological veterinarians are rel-
atively low compared to the average salaries of vet-
erinarians in companion animal medicine. Lower sal-
aries, combined with high educational debt and the 
small number of positions available in wildlife and 
zoological veterinary medicine, discourage students 
from pursuing careers in wildlife or zoological veteri-
nary medicine. 
(12) According to the AAWV and NAFV, most 
schools and colleges of veterinary medicine lack both 
a comprehensive curriculum and sufficient numbers 
of formal educational programs specializing in wild-
life or zoological veterinary medicine to adequately 
prepare graduates for a competitive workplace. 
(13) According to the AVMA, while some train-
ing opportunities exist for aspiring wildlife and zoo-
logical veterinarians, such opportunities are not 
available each year, pay low salaries or stipends, if 
any, and are highly competitive. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
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(1) to create new funded positions for wildlife 
and zoological veterinarians; 
(2) to limit the amount of educational debt for 
veterinary medicine students while providing incen-
tives to study and practice wildlife or zoological vet-
erinary medicine; 
(3) to help schools and colleges of veterinary 
medicine develop or improve pilot curricula special-
izing in wildlife and zoological veterinary medicine; 
and 
(4) to expand the number of training programs 
in wildlife or zoological veterinary medicine for vet-
erinary students. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 
apply: 
(1) ACCREDITED SCHOOL OR COLLEGE OF VET-
ERINARY MEDICINE.—The term ‘‘accredited school 
or college of veterinary medicine’’ means an institu-
tion of higher education (as defined in section 101 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001)) that provides an educational program for 
which the institution awards a doctoral degree in 
veterinary medicine. 
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(2) DOCTORAL DEGREE IN VETERINARY MEDI-
CINE.—The term ‘‘doctoral degree in veterinary 
medicine’’ means a doctor of veterinary medicine or 
veterinary medical doctor from an accredited school 
or college of veterinary medicine. 
(3) GRADUATE DEGREE IN VETERINARY MEDI-
CINE.—The term ‘‘graduate degree in veterinary 
medicine’’ means a master’s degree or Ph.D. in vet-
erinary medicine or wildlife health management from 
an accredited school or college of veterinary medicine 
or a public or nonprofit department or school de-
scribed in paragraph (8)(E). 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(5) STATE OR TERRITORY.—The term ‘‘State 
or Territory’’ means each of the several States, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 
Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the North-
ern Mariana Islands, and each federally recognized 
Indian tribe. 
(6) VETERINARY MEDICINE.—The term ‘‘veteri-
nary medicine’’ means all branches of, and special-
ties included within, the practice of veterinary medi-
cine, including— 
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(A) the diagnosis, treatment, correction, 
change, alleviation, prevention, management of, 
or research on animal disease, illness, pain, de-
formity, defect, injury, or other physical, dental, 
or mental conditions; and 
(B) the management of ecosystems on 
which wildlife and zoological populations de-
pend. 
(7) WILDLIFE.—The term ‘‘wildlife’’ means any 
member of the animal kingdom and includes mam-
mals, fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, or 
arthropods. Such term does not include plant or 
plant matter or any other member of another king-
dom. 
(8) WILDLIFE OR VETERINARY INSTITUTION.— 
The 
term 
‘‘wildlife 
or 
veterinary 
institution’’ 
means— 
(A) any agency or department of a State 
or Territory or of the Federal Government that 
employs wildlife or zoological veterinarians, in-
cluding a wildlife conservation or natural re-
source management agency; 
(B) a nonprofit wildlife conservation orga-
nization; 
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(C) a zoo or aquarium accredited by the 
Association of Zoos and Aquariums; 
(D) an accredited school or college of vet-
erinary medicine; 
(E) a public or nonprofit department of 
comparative medicine, department of veterinary 
science, department of the environment and 
natural resources, school of public health, or 
school of medicine that is accredited by a na-
tionally recognized accrediting agency or asso-
ciation recognized by the Secretary of Edu-
cation; 
(F) a State or Territory, national, allied, 
or regional veterinary organization or specialty 
board recognized by the American Veterinary 
Medical Association; or 
(G) a university research foundation or 
veterinary medical foundation. 
(9) 
WILDLIFE
OR
ZOOLOGICAL
VETERI-
NARIAN.—The term ‘‘wildlife or zoological veteri-
narian’’ means an individual who has received a doc-
toral degree in veterinary medicine from an accred-
ited school or college of veterinary medicine and 
practices veterinary medicine as applied to wildlife 
populations— 
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(A) in their natural habitat; or 
(B) in captivity in conservation centers in-
cluding zoos, aquariums, wildlife refuges, and 
breeding reserves. 
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTING AUTHORITY AND COOPERATION 
BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES. 
The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this Act. 
In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall cooperate 
with the heads of such other departments and agencies 
of the Federal Government as the Secretary determines 
necessary. 
TITLE I—WILDLIFE AND ZOO-
LOGICAL VETERINARY MEDI-
CINE 
WORKFORCE 
EXPAN-
SION 
SEC. 101. GRANTS TO CREATE POSITIONS FOR WILDLIFE 
AND ZOOLOGICAL VETERINARIANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To create additional clinical and 
research positions for wildlife and zoological veterinarians, 
the Secretary may award grants to wildlife or veterinary 
institutions that submit to the Secretary a proposal de-
signed to create such positions. A proposal— 
(1) shall be submitted at such time, and in such 
form and manner, as the Secretary may require; and 
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(2) shall contain such information as the Sec-
retary may require, including a description of— 
(A) each such position; 
(B) the need of the wildlife or veterinary 
institution for each such position; 
(C) how each such position will advance 
the conservation and management of wildlife or 
zoological populations; and 
(D) how the wildlife or veterinary institu-
tion will use funds awarded under a grant. 
(b) AWARD.—The Secretary shall establish proce-
dures to ensure that, under this section, proposals are rig-
orously reviewed and grants are competitively awarded 
based on such considerations as the Secretary may deter-
mine necessary. Such considerations shall include— 
(1) the ability of a wildlife or veterinary institu-
tion to describe and justify the need for each posi-
tion in its proposal under subsection (a)(2); and 
(2) the ability of the wildlife or veterinary insti-
tution to create such positions. 
(c) PREFERENCE.—In awarding a grant under this 
section, the Secretary shall give preference to wildlife or 
veterinary institutions that will create positions in areas 
of need, including— 
(1) wildlife disease research; 
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(2) disease surveillance; 
(3) wildlife disease training; 
(4) ecology and wildlife population manage-
ment; and 
(5) conservation and management of the health 
of endangered, threatened, and sensitive species. 
(d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a grant 
made to a wildlife or veterinary institution under this sec-
tion shall be determined by the Secretary, taking into ac-
count such factors as the Secretary may consider appro-
priate, including— 
(1) the contents of the proposal submitted by 
the wildlife or veterinary institution under subsection 
(a); and 
(2) the number of grants available to all wildlife 
or veterinary institutions. 
(e) USE
OF FUNDS.—Amounts received under a 
grant under this section shall only be used by a wildlife 
or veterinary institution for purposes determined by the 
Secretary to be appropriate to create and support posi-
tions created under the proposal submitted by the wildlife 
or veterinary institution under subsection (a), including 
the payment of— 
(1) salaries for such positions; and 
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(2) costs associated with the acquisition of ma-
terial and equipment necessary for the creation of 
the additional positions. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016. 
Amounts appropriated under this subsection are author-
ized to remain available until expended. 
SEC. 102. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR VETERINARY 
STUDENTS AND VETERINARIANS SPECIAL-
IZING IN WILDLIFE AND ZOOLOGICAL POPU-
LATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To expand the workforce of wild-
life and zoological veterinarians, the Secretary shall estab-
lish a program, to be known as the ‘‘Wildlife and Zoolog-
ical Veterinary Workforce Loan Repayment Program’’ to 
enter into agreements with eligible individuals to make 
payments on their behalf for repayment of their edu-
cational loans. 
(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 
section, an individual shall be treated as an eligible indi-
vidual if the individual— 
(1) is a United States citizen, national, or law-
ful permanent resident; 
(2) either— 
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(A) has received, not before the date that 
is 10 years prior to the date on which the indi-
vidual submits an application under paragraph 
(3)— 
(i) a doctoral degree in veterinary 
medicine; or 
(ii) a graduate degree in veterinary 
medicine, providing that the individual re-
ceived such degree after receiving a doc-
toral degree in veterinary medicine; 
that has been approved by the Secretary for 
purposes of this section; or 
(B) is enrolled in a full-time or part-time 
program that— 
(i) leads to— 
(I) a doctoral degree in veteri-
nary medicine; or 
(II) a graduate degree in veteri-
nary medicine, providing that the indi-
vidual has received a doctoral degree 
in veterinary medicine; and 
(ii) has been approved by the Sec-
retary for purposes of this section; and 
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(3) has prepared and submitted to the Sec-
retary an application at such time and in such form 
and manner as is specified by the Secretary. 
(c) AGREEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—No payment shall be made 
on behalf of an eligible individual under the Wildlife 
and Zoological Veterinary Workforce Loan Repay-
ment Program unless the eligible individual has en-
tered into an agreement with the Secretary under 
this subsection. 
(2) CONTENTS.—An agreement under this sub-
section shall contain— 
(A) an agreement by the Secretary to 
make payments under subsection (e); and 
(B) an agreement by the eligible indi-
vidual— 
(i) to serve for a period of no fewer 
than 4 consecutive years at a wildlife or 
veterinary institution as— 
(I) a full-time wildlife or zoolog-
ical veterinarian; or 
(II) with the approval of the Sec-
retary, a part-time wildlife or zoolog-
ical veterinarian, if no full-time posi-
tions are available; and 
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(ii) to complete the service in clause 
(i) not later than 10 years after the later 
of the date on which the eligible indi-
vidual— 
(I) receives a doctoral or grad-
uate degree in veterinary medicine 
under subsection (b)(2); and 
(II) enters into the agreement 
under subsection (a). 
(d) PREFERENCE.—In making payments under this 
section, the Secretary shall give preference to an eligible 
individual who— 
(1) holds or is pursuing a doctoral or graduate 
degree in veterinary medicine with a specialty in 
wildlife or zoological veterinary medicine; or 
(2) is currently practicing wildlife or zoological 
veterinary medicine. 
(e) PAYMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Payments on behalf of an el-
igible individual under this section shall include pay-
ment of the principal and interest on the govern-
ment loans of the eligible individual, to the extent 
that the loans cover such expenses as are determined 
by the Secretary to be associated with obtaining a 
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doctoral or graduate degree in veterinary medicine 
under subsection (b)(2), including— 
(A) tuition expenses; 
(B) reasonable living expenses; and 
(C) all other reasonable educational ex-
penses incurred by the grantee, including fees, 
laboratory expenses, and expenses for books 
and equipment. 
(2) AMOUNT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limita-
tions in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall 
develop regulations to determine the amounts of 
payments for each eligible individual under this 
section, considering factors including— 
(i) the degree held or pursued by the 
eligible individual; 
(ii) the training programs in which 
the eligible individual has participated; 
(iii) the total loan balance paid by the 
eligible individual; 
(iv) the extent to which such deter-
mination affects the ability of the Sec-
retary to maximize the number of agree-
ments that can be provided under this sec-
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tion from the amounts appropriated for 
such agreements; and 
(v) the extent to which such deter-
mination provides an incentive to serve as 
a wildlife or zoological veterinarian. 
(B) LIMITATIONS.—Payments on behalf of 
an eligible individual under this section shall 
not exceed, for each year of service under sub-
section (c)(2)(B)(i)— 
(i) $35,000 in aggregate; or 
(ii) if the total loans of the eligible in-
dividual are less than $140,000, an 
amount that does not exceed an amount 
that is two-thirds of the eligible loan bal-
ance. 
(3) PAYMENT SCHEDULE.—The Secretary may 
enter into an agreement with the holder of any loan 
for which payments are made to establish a schedule 
for making payments under this subsection. 
(f) BREACH OF AGREEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 
and (3), in the case of any agreement entered into 
under subsection (a), an eligible individual shall be 
liable to the Federal Government for an amount, as 
determined by the Secretary, not to exceed the total 
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