The recent flooding at the University of Peradeniya caused by Cyclone Ditwah has exposed what the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA) describes as a deep-seated national crisis, highlighting the vulnerability of the country’s veterinary education system and raising concerns over food security, public health and economic resilience.

While several faculties at the university were affected by the unprecedented rise of the adjacent Mahaweli River, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science sustained the severest damage. As Sri Lanka’s only fully-fledged veterinary faculty, the disruption has implications that extend far beyond the campus, with nationwide consequences for animal health services and disease control.

According to the SLVA, academic buildings, laboratories, animal housing units, diagnostic facilities, libraries, teaching hospitals and specialised equipment were either submerged or destroyed. Decades of research data were also lost. Senior academics have described the incident as the worst flooding experienced by the Faculty since its establishment more than 50 years ago.

Preliminary estimates place the financial losses at several billion rupees. More critically, the disaster has disrupted teaching schedules, halted essential research programmes, compromised clinical training and displaced both students and staff. The association warns that these setbacks threaten the continuity and quality of veterinary education at a time when national demand for trained professionals is already acute.

Concerns over the Faculty’s location within the flood plains of the Mahaweli River are not new. Professionals have long cautioned about the risks, but the recent floods exceeded all historical records at Peradeniya, marking the first event of this magnitude since the Faculty’s inception. With climate change increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the SLVA says the likelihood of recurrence can no longer be dismissed.

Sri Lanka currently relies on a single institution to train veterinary surgeons, a dependency that has resulted in a significant workforce shortfall. The country requires an estimated 200 veterinarians annually, but the current output is around 100, leaving a deficit of nearly 50 per cent. This shortage affects livestock productivity, disease surveillance, food safety and public health, as well as the growth of key sectors such as dairy, poultry, meat, aquaculture and companion animal services.

In light of the proven vulnerability of the Peradeniya site and growing national needs, the SLVA has renewed calls for the strategic relocation of the Faculty to a safer, climate-resilient location. A modern, integrated veterinary faculty, the association argues, would strengthen Sri Lanka’s capacity to protect food security, enhance public health preparedness and build resilience against future climate-related disruptions.

The SLVA has urged policymakers to treat veterinary education as a matter of national strategic importance, warning that delayed action could undermine the country’s health systems and economic stability.