A New Brunswick dairy farmer says a shortage of large animal veterinarians in the province is putting undue pressure on rural farmers and veterinarians.
“The vets have more load than they can handle sometimes,” said Henry Helder, who owns a dairy farm in Salisbury, N.B.
Helder says he has been able to access care because his farm is located close to Moncton, in a region with plenty of farms. But he says farmers in less dense and remote farming regions in the northern part of the province need more support.
He says the territories for large animal vets employed by the province are too large and more back up vets are required to cover off emergencies in a more timely manner.
“If there is an emergency, which happens sometimes, then you might have to wait longer if they are somewhere else,” said Helder.
According to the province, recruiting large animals vets is an ongoing struggle.
“The shortage of veterinarians is not unique to New Brunswick and is a challenge throughout Canada and elsewhere,” stated Nick Brown, a representative for the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries.
Twenty-one large animals veterinarians are employed by the province and Brown stated that one permanent position is currently open.
“All levels of veterinary organizations, from the provincial and national associations to the veterinarian schools and regulatory bodies, are working to find short-term and long-term solutions to the veterinary shortage,” he said.
According to the province’s website, in April, there were several full-time, one-year contract positions open in the Bathurst and Fredericton regions. It is unclear if those positions have been filled.
Helder says the province should be increasing the salary for large animal vets to entice more people to work in more remote locations.
But the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association won’t address the shortage, said Dr. Nicole Jewett, registrar for the association.
“Whether they increase salary, whether they give benefits or perks, it still may not get enough people there to work,” said Jewett.
Jewett says there is a shortage of both small and large animals vets globally.
In New Brunswick, private small animal vets are allowed to treat larger livestock under provincial regulations and can offer private care for larger animals she says.
But Jewett says not all vets are trained to do so and in remote communities to the north, “if you don’t have a government subsidy to be open, it just doesn’t pay the bills.”
According to the province, field veterinarians are situated regionally in Fredericton, Wicklow, Grand Falls, Bathurst, Moncton and Sussex.