University Regents Sue High-Profile Veterinarian

The University of California, Davis (UC Davis), Board of Regents has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Jack Snyder, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, for allegedly failing to contribute to a university-sponsored profit-sharing plan that would benefit research and other projects at the school.

 

Now retired from his UC Davis post, Snyder served on the university's College of Veterinary Medicine faculty for some 30 years. A biography posted on the Circle Oak Equine website—the Petaluma, California, clinic where Snyder now practices—states that he also served as head equine surgeon for the Seoul Olympic games, and served at both the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico and the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

 

“There's no doubt about it, he was the expert in horse lameness and surgery,” said Parker White, the board of regents' attorney.

 

White said the regents' lawsuit seeks $1 million that board alleges Snyder should have contributed to a fund intended to support grants, research, and other projects at the school. The lawsuit alleges Snyder was to contribute revenue that he gleaned as a consultant and from other paid work at clinics and other venues located outside the school while he was employed by the university.

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.