The Turks and Caicos Department of Agriculture welcomes a new Chief Officer

#TurksandCaicos, October 23, 2017 – Providenciales – The Department of Agriculture is extremely pleased to announce that a new Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has joined the complement of staff.

Dr. Shelley Tricia Bridgewater, a practicing Small and Farm Animal Veterinarian for the past nine (9) years has actively been involved in the fields of Animal Production and Animal Science for more than 15 years.   She is passionate about teaching and the development of the Agriculture industry.  Dr. Bridgewater has used some of these acquired skills throughout the years to mentor students and lecture part-time in the areas of Swine Medicine, Poultry Production, Animal Genetics and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of the West Indies (UWI) for four (4) years.    She has assisted in the writing of a Distance Learning Course manual for “Livestock Development in Small States” in the Livestock Programme at the UWI, St. Augustine Campus.   She is currently a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Veterinary Association (TTVA) and a co-founding member of the Pork Producers Association of Trinidad and Tobago (PPATT).

With such a wealth of experience, the Director of Agriculture-Ms. Wilhelmina Kissoonsingh says that the new CVO is up to the challenge of taking the now developing Livestock Industry in Turks and Caicos Islands to a stage where it can be seen as a lucrative enterprise and where young persons can see Agriculture as a professional alternative.    The Director also stated; “Over the last year the Department has offered outreach programs and training in crops and with the new CVO on board we plan to reach in the community and offer training in livestock and animal care.”

She also iterated that a major responsibility of the Department is ensuring compliance with international trading laws with meat and meat products and movement of live animals all of which will be overseen by the CVO.

Press Release: TCIG