Penn Vet state funding still has a chance

By Veterinary Practice News Editors

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine may keep the $30 million in state funding previously under threat, reported the Daily Pennsylvanian.

As a result of Pennsylvania’s latest state budget negotiations, the funds, which comprise 20 percent of the vet school’s annual budget, might be restored. In addition, more than $281,000 would go to the Division of Infectious Diseases at Penn Medicine.

The state Senate already voted unanimously for the bill’s passage; the House will vote later this week, said university spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy.

Advocates urged state government to reconsider restoring the funding that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf proposed cutting—funding Penn Vet has received from the state for the past 133 years.

In a letter to the editor of The Pike County Courier, Joan Hendricks, Penn Vet’s dean, said the school helps “fight re-emerging threats such as rabies,” farmers and truckers see where [swine virus] is present to prevent its spread,” and ensure that “99.99 percent of Pennsylvania eggs [make] it to market without salmonella.”