Global survey reveals the overlooked role of veterinary professionals

When a client brings their pet to the veterinarian, they might picture a quick examination, a vaccination, and a bill. However, a new global survey reveals that what veterinarians do—for animals, for people, and for society at large—goes far deeper than most of us ever appreciate.

Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) published findings from its "Going Beyond" survey, conducted in March and April 2026 with 1046 qualifying veterinary professionals across 51 countries. The results shine a light on the most critical yet consistently overlooked aspects of veterinary work across 3 key areas: companion animals, horses, and livestock.

"Every day, veterinarians make decisions that matter far beyond the consulting room – for the animals in their care, for the people who love them, and for the food systems and public health we depend on,” said Claire Fowler, Head of Global Strategic Marketing, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, in an organizational release.¹

“Through this Going Beyond survey, together with our partners, we are highlighting the value of something many of us in the animal health world have long felt to be true: the most critical parts of what veterinarians do are often the least visible.”

For veterinarians, the single most underrecognized part of their role is identifying hidden health problems and pain, flagged by 87% of respondents as the aspect of their work most likely to go unnoticed by animal owners.¹ This kind of detection is far from straightforward. Qualifying as a veterinarian typically takes 5-6 years of university study, and specialist veterinarians may go on to complete additional years of advanced training. The result is a depth of clinical knowledge that informs every quiet decision made in the consulting room for cats and dogs, can mean the difference between catching a condition like diabetes early and missing it entirely.

As expectations around pet health and wellbeing continue to rise among owners, veterinary judgment plays an increasingly important role across every stage of care, from prevention and early diagnosis through to managing complex, long-term conditions. Yet much of this expertise remains invisible to the people it serves most.

For equine veterinarians, much of the most valuable work happens before a problem ever becomes visible. Respondents ranked detecting hidden pain and subtle early disease signs (60%) and using a horse's environment and clinical history to predict health risks (42%) as the most important but overlooked aspects of their role.

In practice, this means tailored guidance on diet, dental and hoof care, vaccination, parasite control, and stable management—all aimed at preventing serious conditions like colic, laminitis, and respiratory disease before they take hold.

“Much of an equine veterinarian’s work goes unnoticed precisely because it is effective,” said Sarah M. Reuss, VMD, DACVIM (LA), president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and equine technical manager at BI.¹ “Its impact is seen in problems identified early, avoided altogether, or managed before they escalate.”

The stakes become even broader when it comes to livestock veterinary care. Cattle, pigs, and poultry depend on veterinary professionals whose work directly underpins around 34% of the global food protein supply. Beyond the food system, 60% of human infectious diseases are known to spread between animals and humans, and 70% of emerging diseases originate in animals which makes livestock veterinarians a critical first line of defense for public health.

Yet despite this, livestock veterinarians report that their broader societal role is rarely understood. In the survey, 65% identified protecting food-chain safety as the aspect of their work most likely to be overlooked, while 62% pointed to disease surveillance programs.

The "Going Beyond" survey is part of a wider campaign developed by Boehringer Ingelheim in cooperation with the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, the World Association for Buiatrics, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, and other leading organizations. First launched for World Veterinary Day 2024, the campaign aims to deepen public understanding of what veterinary care truly involves and not just for the animals in the room, but for the communities and food systems that depend on it every day.

Reference

1. The hidden impact of veterinary care: new insights from a global survey of veterinarians. News release. Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd. June 23, 2026. Accessed June 29, 2026.https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-hidden-impact-of-veterinary-care-new-insights-from-a-global-survey-of-veterinarians-809910389.html