The Press MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1954. A Veterinary School At Last

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27435, 23 August 1954, Page 10

The Press MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1954. A Veterinary School At Last

The decision of the . University Senate to establish a veterinary school in New Zealand is of prime importance to pastoral industries. The decision does not of itself ensure the training of all the veterinary surgeons that the country needs, provide a centre of interest for all concerned in animal health, or set afoot the research essential to sound pastoral progress. Much planning, inspiration, and hard Work will be necessary before a veterinary school can become the vital force in New Zealand that it should be. But the Senate’s decision is the indispensable first step, without which the other factors vAuld be useless; and its significance should be recognised. The Senate is to be congratulated on having a clearer vision of the needs of farming in New Zealand than. some farmers’ organisations have shown. Reports to the Senate emphasised the obvious truth that veterinary science, like medical science, should be concerned with preserving health rather than with repairing the ravages of ill-health. For this function there is no effective substitute for a vigorous, living society of scientific workers bound together, and bound to the land they serve, by the common cultural ties of a university college. The establishment of such a school has been too long delayed in this country, which has lagged behind others much less dependent on their pastoral industries. That is all the more reason for those concerned to make the school a reality as quickly as possible, although it must be recognised that its organisation and staffing will take time.

Figures quoted to the Senate gave the upper limit of capital expenditure as £250,000, with an annual expenditure of £50,000. This would not be much to pay for adequately protecting the principal source of New Zealand’s wealth. Actually, a veterinary school might cost a good deS less, perhaps with increased efficiency. The estimate of £250.000 is apparently for building a school from " scratch without making use of existing facilities, which would ‘probably be the case if the school were located at Massey Agricultural. College. This location, which has the support of the New Zealand Veterinary Association, has advantages that should not be .dismissed on economic grounds alone. On the other hand, as the secretary of the association, Mr L.

J. Thompson, has said, close contact with a medical school would be desirable. Such an arrangement would also reduce the capital expenditure necessary for. technical facilities that already exist at the University of Otago. Canterbury Agricultural College could make a good case for having the veterinary school at Lincoln, because of its proximity to Dunedin, among other advantages. This case should be presentee’ as strongly as possible, because Massey College can be expected to press its claims vigorously; and the decision on the site should not go by default. It would not be in the interests of New Zealand generally, any more than of Canterbury, if the wrong location Were chosen only because the merits of the right location were not sufficiently understood. If Massey College is the right place, then the school must go there; but the enthusiasm of Massey College in building up its institution should not be the decisive influence.