The five veterinary bodies representing the 2,000 veterinary practitioners who work in the Republic are considering merging into a single union to be called Veterinary Ireland.
The five bodies are the Irish Veterinary Union, the Irish Veterinary Association, the Irish Companion Animals Veterinary Association, the Veterinary Officers' Association and the Local Authority Veterinary Officers' Association.
The target date for setting up the new organisation is January 1st next.
The organisations are to hold special meetings over the coming weeks at which their executives will decide on whether to endorse the plan. If they agree, there will be a ballot of all the members.
Mr Pascal Gibbons, president of the Irish Veterinary Union, meanwhile warned yesterday at the veterinary conference in Dun Laoghaire of a potential shortage of vets to service rural Ireland because young vets today had many attractive industrial and commercial options open to them.
"Another factor is what can be described as the feminisation of the profession. There has been a huge and welcome increase in female veterinary students who may not want to engage in large animal works on farms but would prefer small animal practice or meat factory work," he said.