HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), University of Ilorin was established in 2012. Before its establishment, Veterinary Clinical services were being offered by Veterinarians in a Veterinary Clinic on the main campus of the University. Its present location, at GRA/Sabo-Oke was acquired for the permanent site of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in 2014, and the hospital was commissioned in October 2016. The VTH was established to provide excellent facilities for teaching/research in clinical duties for Veterinary students of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FVM), and rendering of specialized services, such as, consultations, clinical and diagnostic services to owners of all classes of pet and other animal species including wildlife, poultry and livestock enterprises, agro-allied and public health sectors, the university farm and zoological gardens, community-based livestock practitioners and the general public. The VTH has been positioned to be a centre of excellence for the development of highly skilled and proficient Veterinary Surgeons, and the provision of specialized services to the livestock, agro-allied and public health sectors in the sub-region. The case loads of the hospital have steadily increased in 2021 to 1,200 small animals (dogs and cats), 6,240 Cattle, 5,200 sheep and rams, 15,000 fish, 91,000 poultry, 379 virological test samples, 300 PCR tests, 72 autopsies, 212 haematology and clinical chemistry samples, 72 parasitological test samples, 93 bacteriological tests samples, 30 x-rays, 19 surgeries, 110 in-clinic small ruminants from population of 1,794 animals, 11 theriogenological cases, and 16 wildlife.