Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health), a veterinary health company based in Parsippany, New Jersey, has announced a five-year, $35 million commitment to launch a foundation in support of veterinarians and farmers.

To foster a more inclusive veterinary community in the United States, the Zoetis Foundation will focus its initial grantmaking on scholarships and diversity initiatives, then expand its work in 2022 to provide support for veterinary debt relief; additional diversity, equity, and inclusion programming; mental wellness for farmers and veterinarians in the U.S.; and farmer and veterinary livelihoods in Africa, Australia, Brazil, China, and Europe.

In 2020, Zoetis donated more than $6 million in support of animals and the people who care for them, including global COVID-19 relief efforts, and $934,000 in scholarships for more than four hundred veterinary students.

"Zoetis has a long history of addressing important challenges faced by veterinarians and farmers. Our new charitable foundation represents the next chapter in extending and driving forward these commitments," said Jeannette Ferran Astorga, head of sustainability at Zoetis and president of the Zoetis Foundation. "Specifically, the Zoetis Foundation will look for opportunities to address lack of diversity in both professions, the need for resources that support emotional well-being, financial burdens such as veterinary student loans, and lack of access to a higher standard of animal care in underserved areas."

(Photo credit: Zoetis Foundation)