After a 15-year fight, a Bermudian vet rejected for the post of Government Veterinary Officer has lost her discrimination case.Susann Smith became the Island’s first black woman to qualify as a vet when she gained her doctorate of veterinary medicine from Alabama’s Tuskegee University.Dr Smith, 47, of Devonshire, subsequently tried for the post of Government vet in 1994 — but was hired instead as trainee vet, and denied the top job.She argued before a Human Rights Commission (HRC) board of inquiry that Government discriminated against her because she picked up further qualifications in Jamaica, rather than passing exams in Europe or the US.Reviewing the evidence, the board reported that more than 700 pages of evidence were submitted — but that it was “unable in such pages to find any direct evidence of discrimination”.The three-member board, chaired by Kevin George, with Jacqueline MacLellan and Ed Bailey, heard Dr Smith’s case during hearings in January and March. Lawyer Kai Musson argued that his client had been the target of “systemic discrimination”.Government lawyer Charles Richardson countered: “In order for this to be a reasonable inference, there would have to be evidence of a grand conspiracy between the Island’s vets, successive directors of Agriculture and Fisheries, successive Ministers of Government and the Public Service Commission to keep Dr Susann Smith and other black Bermudians from becoming registered vets.”In its ruling, the HRC board said it did not find any evidence of an intent by individuals connected with Government to discriminate against Dr Smith.“However, we do find evidence of assistance and support given to black Bermudians by such persons,” it said.The board pointed out that the Director of Agriculture recommended an extra position be created for Dr Smith as a trainee Government vet to enable her to gain the requisite experience for the main job.It also noted how Dr Smith failed the exam of the North American Board of Veterinary Examiners four times and the UK’s Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons exam once. Bermuda’s Government vets are required to be licensed in North America, the UK or Europe.“The complainant had taken and failed the Boards four times, an examination which evidence shows is passed by 98 percent of candidates on first sitting, as well as failing the examination set by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,” said the HRC board.“Bearing in mind the duty of the investigating committee (set up under the Agriculture Act) to ensure that the complainant was properly qualified for the protection of the public, in our view they would have been negligent to give approval to the application.”The board’s ruling, issued on Wednesday, is open to further appeal. Dr Smith’s lawyer, Kai Musson, said yesterday: “My client and I are extremely disappointed by the decision and accordingly we are in the process of reviewing the judgment and considering our client’s legal options.”The ruling followed years of legal action. Dr Smith first issued a writ against the Minister of the Environment in 1997 over Government’s decision not to recognise her credentials from Jamaica. When an investigating committee subsequently thwarted her attempts to land the vet’s job again, she complained to the HRC in 2004, but the complaint was rejected in 2006.Dr Smith then complained to the Ombudsman over the way the complaint had been handled, and the Ombudsman ruled that her case should be reopened by the HRC.In 2009, the HRC asked Acting Minister of Culture Michael Scott to refer the complaint to a board of inquiry, but he refused, saying the HRC had already dealt with the matter.Dr Smith applied for a judicial review of that decision, with the backing of the Ombudsman, Arlene Brock. In February 2011, Puisne Judge Ian Kawaley ruled that the matter should go back to an HRC board of inquiry prompting the latest hearings.Government lawyer Mr Richardson said, in his view, the matter should never have been allowed to proceed as far as it did.“I would say this has cost Government in excess of $300,000 in manpower, legal fees and court time,” he said. “I don’t think her claim ever had any merit.”