The Public Institution Veterinary Institute of Republika Srpska ‘Dr Vaso Butozan’ (VIRSRB), as the oldest veterinary institution in Republika Srpska and BiH, was founded in 1934 as the Department for Veterinary Epidemiology at the Hygiene Institute of Banja Luka. From 1945, it operated independently under the name State Veterinary Institute. In 1960, it became part of the Scientific Research and Diagnostic Institute of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sarajevo, From 1975, the institute was named after Dr Vaso Butozan and was part of the Veterinary University Centre, together with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Sarajevo and the Veterinary and Livestock Centres in Mostar and Tuzla. 
The Veterinary Institute ‘Dr Vaso Butozan’ became the state veterinary institute of the Republika Srpska in 1992, and in 2001 it became the Veterinary Institute of Republika Srpska ‘Dr Vaso Butozan’ (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska 35/01). In addition to Banja Luka, the VIRSR has been operating in Bijeljina since 2003. Since 2009, it has borne the name Public Institution Veterinary Institute of Republika Srpska ‘Dr Vaso Butozan’ (Official Gazette of Republika Srpska 97/09). 
The founder of VIRSVB is the Republika Srpska, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy of the Republika Srpska supervises the work and controls the legality of VIRSVB's operations. One of VIRSVB's symbols of recognisability is its emblem. The emblem is irregularly elliptical in shape, in the centre of which is a nerve cell with Nissl bodies, which is a reminder of the fact that VIRSVB was the first to diagnose rabies in the region.