Vet medicine has $1.5 billion economic impact in Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A new study that measured the financial impact of veterinary medicine in Minnesota finds it contributes $1.5 billion annually to the state's economy.

The report from the University of Minnesota Extension and Department of Applied Sciences attributes that figure to the economic activity generated by an estimated $680 million in annual combined wages and salaries of 14,500 people employed in the state's veterinary medicine industry.

The study found 10 of Minnesota's 87 counties do not have a private veterinary practice. Those practices account for the bulk of the veterinary workforce, employing 7,700 people in Minnesota with $550 million in salaries and wages.

The state Board of Animal Health; the Minnesota Zoo; and the state Departments of Health, Agriculture and Natural Resources employ 97 veterinarians and generate $24 million in economic activity.