Veterinarians And Farmers Welcome Cabinet Decision

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29192, 30 April 1960, Page 12

Veterinarians And Farmers Welcome Cabinet Decision

To the veterinary profession the decision of the Government approving in principle the establishment of a veterinary school in New Zealand was very gratifying. said Mr W. C. Purdie. vice-president of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Veterinary Association last evening New Zealand, which was peculiarly dependent on livestock production, was one of the few countries in the world without a veterinary college, said Mr Purdie. Britain had five or six and certainly New Zealand's dependence on livestock production was greater than that of Britain. Australia had gone from one to two colleges and there was now talk of reopening a college in Melbourne. In the last 20 years there had never been sufficient veterinarians available to meet the demand, said Mr Purdie. In addition to those New Zealand veterinarians trained in Australia, the Government had sought to attract graduates from the United Kingdom, the Continent and America and while numbers had come forward there had still never been sufficient to meet requirements. The establishment of a veterin ary college would mean that more New Zealanders would have an opportunity to enter the profession and as New Zealand's farm-

ing was a specialised type of farming dependent on grasslands, with special problems, the training that would be given in this country would take cognisance of these problems. The president of the North Canterbury district of Federated Farmers (Mr .1. F. G. Blakely' said the establishment of a college was welcome news. It would ensure that eventually there would be enough veterinarians coming forward to cope with the increasing stock population.