Since the conquest of Chile in 1537, to the beginning of the Republic in 1817, there is no information on the occurrence of official veterinary actions or presence of known veterinary practitioners or “albeitares”, as they were named in Spain. However, it is expected that some “veterinary activities” related to equine farriery and health care, breeding and husbandry of pigs, sheep, goats and cattle should be in practice during the period of Spanish colonization and beyond. One of the main documented steps was taken in
1549 concerning an animal sanitary action. This was the public decision to eliminate the entire sheep flock brought from Peru due to a persistent epizooty of mange.
In 1551, the “Cabildo of Santiago”, at that time the main institution of government and administration of the territory, designated personnel for taking care of the horses with the name of “yeguarizos” and ordered that horse breeding should be supervi sed by “albeitares”. However, there is no record of any known “albeitar” and if they already were in the territory, it is not known where they came from or where they were formed. During the colonization period there was an increase in the human population and a need for incorporating new territories taken from the indigenous people. For that reason there was a steady increase in farm animals and livestock, not only for food production, but also for tallow and leather, and ox, horses and mules for animal power and transportation.
Since the beginning of the Republic, from 1817 to 1898, there were important changes in agriculture such as the import of purebred horses and several breeds of cattle, sheep and goats, stimulating farmers to found Agriculture and Livestock Associations.
On the other hand, the arrival of German immigrants to the South of the Chilean territory led to the development of a prosperous dairy and meat production industry with a concomitant need for veterinary professionals.
In 1842, during the government of the General Manuel Bulnes, a small farm located in West Santiago, was established with the name of “Quinta Normal de Agricultura” for agriculture and veterinary services and education under the Direction of the Italian agronomist Luis Sada di Carlo. In the same farm was built, in 187 3, the “Instituto Agronómico” which depended on the University of Chile (the first state university established in the country in 1842) for agriculture and veterinary education. However, the actual appearance of the veterinary profession started with the arrival to that institute, in 1874, of the zootechnician Jules Bernard, who organized a Veterinary Hospital, a horse breeding station and the zoological garden. However, during all this period there was no veterinary education in the sense that no veterinarian was produced, but instead French veterinarians were hired for veterinary services. In charge of the just organized Veterinary Hospital were the French veterinarians Drs. Brocquaire and Daniel
Monfallet. Monfallet was also in charge of the presidential escort squadron. Other contemporary French veterinarians were Lucet and Dehors for the Service of Meat Inspection, George Mabilais for preparing smallpox vaccine in the Institute of Animal Vaccine created in the same location, Emilio Eyquem for the sanitary administration of the Santiago slaughterhouse, Varichon as veterinary practitioner in horse racing institutions, and Blier and Descazeaux as bacteriologists.
The German influence in the veterinary profession began some years later. In 1905 the Military
Veterinary School was inaugurated as a center for training technicians for the care of military livestock especially horses. For that purpose, Drs. Reff (Clinics), Deselzky (Pharmacology), Skiva (Infectious
Diseases and Microbiology), Schwalbe (Surgical Pathology), and Schmidt and Redenz (Hippology) were hired. In 1915 a civil Veterinary School located in the “Quinta Normal” was organized as` part of the
Ministry of Agriculture through the fusion of the Military School (closed in 1916), the Institute of Animal
Vaccine and the Veterinary Hospital.
In 1928 those facilities and others were incorporated to the University of Chile for the establishment of the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine. In 1938 both fields of study separated and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was established. Since 1974, the Faculty is in its present location at South
Santiago, Campus Antumapu. Its present name is Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and its mission is to create, cultivate, develop and disseminate knowledge and educate professionals and

graduates in Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences at the highest level of excellence for contributing to the socioeconomic and scientific development of the country.
The Faculty is organized into two Schools (undergraduate and graduate studies), five Departments
(Animal Biology, Veterinary Pathology, Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Animal Production, and Clinical
Sciences), a University Veterinary Hospital, and specialized Centers for Research, Services and
Outreach.