Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — While there is no specific budget item amount to pay a veterinarian, Agriculture director Sala Dr. Mataese Samuelu says the highest pay scale is around $50,000 and it’s included in the budget numbers for the Agriculture Department’s (DoA) fiscal year 2021 proposed budget document.

Sala made the comment during the DoA budget hearing on Wednesday where he denied that his department is not ordering vaccines and medical supplies for animals, saying that they are researching the right type of supplies to be brought here.

At the outset of the hearing, Rep. Andra Samoa noted that there is growing public concern over Leptospirosis but looking at the department’s budget there is no specific budgeted position for a veterinarian. She asked if there is a veterinarian, and if so, where the salary for a veterinarian is budgeted.

Sala explained that the salary for a veterinarian’s pay-scale is usually a contract position and the highest pay scale — as he could recall from the last time — was $50,000 annually. While it’s not specifically identified in the budget, he said that there are funds available from other budget items within the DoA to fund a salary.

He also pointed out that not every year is there a veterinarian, noting that there are times when volunteer veterinarians come on island to offer their help.

Rep. Samoa pointed out she doesn’t see a set-aside salary for a veterinarian under the column of Contractual Service for DoA’s budget, “but thank you anyway.”

Sen. Fonoti Tafa’ifa Aufata asked if DoA has outstanding unpaid bills with vendors off island to which Sala said that to his knowledge, there’s none.

“So why are you holding out on buying medical supplies to treat dogs and other animals?” the Tualauta senator asked, to which Sala denied such claims, saying that DoA is conducting research — working with the Health Department — to identify the right vaccines and medical supplies that all must meet specific federal requirements.

Late last week, a veterinary clinic staffer, Tanya Tarasawa, wrote to Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga, in an email, raising concerns over Leptospirosis, the lack of vaccines for dogs and pigs and recommended placing the clinic under the Health Department.

Tarasawa informed the governor about getting a phone call that “two piglets were dying of Leptospirosis and one is very ill. If Leptospirosis spreads quickly and people consume the meat of a pig that is a carrier, cooked or not, they could become very ill.”

She wrote in her email message, “Deeply concerned and I tried to warn the public before this happened and it will snowball if we don’t do something quickly. Please put the Veterinary Clinic under Department of Health so that we can get this under control before it’s too late.” The email was also copied to DoH director Motusa Tuileama Nua, other ASG officials and a handful of lawmakers.

“This may be something that we were not aware of earlier that might have resulted in a lot of dialysis patients. We need VACCINES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE for dogs and Pigs. This matter is a HIGH RISK to HUMANS and a SEVERE HEALTH ISSUE,” Tarasawa concluded.

The same issues were also raised in a Sept. 2nd email letter from Dr. Kathleen Riley, a US licensed veterinarian, who recommended hiring as soon as possible a US licensed veterinarian and coordinating the ordering of clinic supplies with the LBJ Pharmacy and hospital. (See Samoa News edition Sept. 4th for details.)

Samoa News understands that Rep. Samoa and other lawmakers are planning on seeking more details on the status of the hiring a US certified veterinarian as well as medical supplies for the vet clinic, as more complaints are lodged with them.

Tarasawa had appeared on KVKZ-TV in the past weeks discussing the seriousness of Leptospirosis and the impact on people, especially children who bring in their pet-dogs, hugging them. She also warned that Leptrospirosis is on island and must be taken seriously.