Veterinarian attending to a sick cow Photo: AFP
The New Zealand Veterinary Association says a government programme that brings veterinarians to rural areas is vital and welcomed - but needs to be extended.
The government has announced 35 graduate veterinarians will join rural areas in serious need of agricultural vets through its Voluntary Bonding Scheme (VBS) - the most the scheme has ever allocated.
The VBS scheme awarded $55,000 to each student, staggered over five years, to go towards their student loans and get them working in areas where they were most needed.
Veterinary Association chief executive Kevin Bryant welcomed the announcement and said it was very positive, as those areas needed that expertise.
"We are very, very supportive of this scheme because it creates an opportunity for an ongoing pipeline of veterinarians to specifically move into our rural communities, and with the dependence of our economy on our agricultural sector, it's a critical thing that we continued to have enough vets function in that area."
The scheme started in 2009 and was allocated to around 30 people each year - more at 32 in 2022 and 33 in 2023 - while Massey University's veterinary school accepted 125 graduates each year.
But Bryant said for all the good things the scheme offered, it was time for it to be reviewed as he believed the number of places needed to about double and the value would have to increase too.
"When the scheme was first created, it was identified that student debt at the time was around about $55,000, and with the increasing cost of education, students are leaving Masey [University] now with a debt of around about $100,000," he said.
"So we're advocating that the level of funding per student gets increased because what we've seen happening is that there are other opportunities for students to pay off their debt faster, which includes going offshore.
"If we can keep them onshore and putting them into these rural communities well supported, that's a far better option for New Zealand."
Bryant said the scheme could also be extended to accept clinics that offered mixed vet services including domestic pets, instead of just agricultural vets.
A spokesperson for the Ministry for Primary Industries said there have been 484 recipients of the scheme since it was established in 2009, including this year's intake.
And they confirmed the value had not changed in that time.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said the government was committed to enhancing primary sector productivity - and vets were vital to rural economies.
"Supporting 35 new vets to work in 28 rural areas across New Zealand strengthens on-the-ground support for our hard-working farmers and producers," McClay said.
"With this scheme, we're not only bringing essential skills to rural areas but also helping young vets pay down their student loans while serving communities that rely on healthy, productive animals."
He said feedback from previous recipients highlighted the rewards of working in close-knit, supportive communities while gaining diverse animal care experience.
Vet graduates will be placed in regions across the country: Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Hawke's Bay and Taranaki, Manawatū-Whanganui in the North Island - and Canterbury, Southland and Otago in the South Island.
Towns included Waipu, Pukekohe, Tīrau, Hastings, Opunake, Fielding, Oxford, Balclutha and Riversdale.