The mandate of the Kenya Veterinary Board is to exercise general supervision and control over training, business, practice and employment of veterinary surgeons and veterinary paraprofessionals in Kenya and advise the government in relation to all aspects thereof. 

Establishment 

The origins of the Kenya Veterinary Board traces back to 1890 when colonialists established the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS). Before independence veterinary services were mainly provided by private sector mainly composed of British veterinarians. To regulate the veterinary profession and education, the British colonial government legislated the Veterinary Surgeons Ordinance in 1953. Section 5 of the Ordinance established the Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB) on 13th October 1953. 

After independence provision of veterinary services became a public good and the Ordinance became the Veterinary Surgeons Act Cap 366. Several amendments and rules were made in 1964, 1967, 1980, 1993 and 1996. Prior to the Structural Adjustments Program in late 1980s all veterinary surgeons and veterinary paraprofessionals were employed in the public sector. However, after the privatization of the veterinary clinical services in early 1990s and the embargo on recruitment of the veterinary professionals into the public sector many veterinary surgeons and veterinary para- professionals joined the private sector; and hence the need to enhance regulation of their services to protect the livestock industry. 

Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Paraprofessionals (VSVP) Act 2011

In the late 1990s, the journey to amend the Veterinary Surgeons Act Cap 366 started, culminating in its repealing and subsequent replacement with the Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Para-Professionals (VSVP) Act 2011. The Act gives the Kenya Veterinary Board an expanded mandate as listed under Section 6 that includes regulating animal health training institutions.