N.Z. NEEDS MORE VETERINARIANS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28481, 10 January 1958, Page 18

N.Z. NEEDS MORE VETERINARIANS

rpHE graduate in veterinary x science can choose from, several fields of work in New Zealand, and although there are almost 300 veterinarians working

in the country authorities estimate that there will ultimately be room for another 200 as well as about 20 a year to replace those who retire.

Any boy or girl who undertakes this work out of a fondness of animals and an interest in farming is also making an important contribution to the economy. To care for the health of the livestock on her 80,000 farms, New Zealand is steadily expanding her veterinary services and this means opportunities in the following branches of this registered profession.

For the general practitioner the veterinary club movement offers a fruitful avenue of employment. New Zealand is the first country in the world to have a national veterinary service on cooperative principles. This means the co-operation of farmers, the profession and the government. The clubs are organised in districts under the national control of the Veterinary Service Council, and are subsidised by funds from the, government and the Dairy, Meat and Wool Boards. Contract To dubs Veterinarians work under contract to their clubs on a salary commencing at £925 and increasing annually to £1225 five years after graduation. Top salaries, according to ability, go up to about £2OOO. Club practice has the advantages of a defined area of work, and a month’s annual holiday and an annual refresher course.

A private practice will entail similar work and the same long hours at certain stages of the year that club practitioners have. Some private veterinarians, in or near towns and cities, give most of their time to the treatment of household pets. Others are specialists in the treatment of horses and some bloodstock breed-

ing establishments pay a retainer for this type of work. The Animal Research Division of the Department of Agriculture has two main research stations, at Ruakura, near Hamilton, and at Wallaceville, near Wellington. These employ veterinarians who. have a bent for specialisation aind for further studies and research after graduation. Wallaceville has a diagnostic laboratory which handles specimens sent from all parts of New Zealand. A third, smaller station employs specialists in bacteriology, pathology, parasitology and animal nutrition. f , Extension Work The Animal Industry Division employs veterinarians in all the main farming districts of the Dominion. They are responsible for promoting greater understanding of animal health among farmers through lectures and demonstrations; they study and report to the department on diseases in their districts; they supervise meat inspection throughout the country; and the division is also responsible for controlling the government’s quarantine stations at Wellington and Auckland. Both the agricultural colleges have lecturers in veterinary science on their staffs and the subject is an essential one for degree and diploma students. Other work is available in diagnostic stations, as technical advisers to commercial firms and various public health services.

Before spending four years overseas—at the Universities of Sydney or Queensland, or in some cases at schools in Britain—students must complete in New Zealand either the Medical Intermediate or the Agricultural Equivalent examinations. The Veterinary Service Council provides bursaries for selected students to study overseas after they have passed'the New Zealand preliminaries. They must return to New Zealand after graduation and work in approved capacity for a period of five years.