Being a vet: the veterinary profession in social science research

This article presents a review of the social science literature on the veterinary profession. It highlights the current debates on the profession. The texts discussed in this review mainly relate to the fields of history, sociology, political sciences and social geography, although multidisciplinary or management studies publications are sometimes referred to. This article analyses four major structuring dynamics: the sociodemographic evolutions that are currently taking place within the profession (1); the transformation of practices and knowledge in relation, on the one hand, to the increase in the number of pets (2) and, on the other hand, to the evolution of farming systems (3); and the ways public authorities govern veterinary public health (4)