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Veterinary Profiles

There are approximately 2,000 veterinarians registered in New Zealand. At any one time, some 300-400 of these are living overseas. To be registered to practice veterinary science in New Zealand, a person must undertake a five year training course at Massey University, Palmerston North (or its equivalent).

• Veterinarians are vital to the success of the livestock industry in New Zealand. They are concerned with the interaction of animals in the environment and preserving the balance of nature. Veterinarians actively promote responsible pet ownership, animal health and welfare.
• Around 75% of veterinarians in New Zealand are involved in private clinical practice. The remainder are employed in state veterinary service, state owned enterprises, research, teaching, veterinary pharmaceutical companies and animal welfare.
• Veterinarians in clinical practice are expected to look after a wide range of animals. Some veterinary practices specialise in certain species.
• Veterinarians have an important role in ensuring that safe and wholesome food is available for New Zealanders and for export.
• Veterinarians are committed to maintaining happy, healthy pets and in the case of livestock, healthy productive animals.
• Veterinarians need numerous professional skills in their every day work and must be able to effectively manage an extensive range of scenarios.

If you are interested in a career / job within the New Zealand veterinary profession visit the following website for further information: www.kiwicareers.govt.nz

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Specialist Groups:

• Clinical Practice

• Industry

• Research

• Rural

• State

• Teaching

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Clinical practice - rural, urban, mixed

• Dealing with a variety of animals requiring surgical/medical treatment
• Giving advice on all aspects of animal health
• Giving advice to improve production
• Giving advice to prospective owners of animals
• Managing clients - interpersonal skills
• Good communication skills essential
• Problem solving
• Knowledge of legislation, standards
• Business management skills
• Staff management

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Industry

• Production of pharmaceutical's e.g. vaccines
• Advice on use of animal remedies
• Development of new animal remedies

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Research

• Exploration of animal diseases - their cause, treatment, avoidance
• Exploration of how diseases affect animals
• Transfer of information from research to public
• Improving animal production performance

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Rural Vet

Veterinarians working in the rural parts of New Zealand enjoy the advantages of living in a rural community. They are often farmers in their spare time because they are basically 'drawn to the land' in a personal sense. Many like working with production animals as well as having a lifestyle that brings with it the benefits of living in the country. The veterinary profession has a reputation amongst financial advisers as the one most likely to invest in rural property.

Veterinarians working in rural clinical practice need technical expertise in the area of animal health and production. But, in addition, special extra skills are required to be able to assist their farmer clients. Rural veterinarians need to be able to render service in all sorts of conditions. They need to be ingenious, quick thinking, physically fit, and able to interpret the farming point of view. Understanding the wider picture is essential; product prices, weather, and budgeting, are just a few of the many factors to be considered.

Traditionally we think of veterinarians as caring for and treating sick and injured animals. The "All Creatures Great and Small" images are popular and well known. However veterinarians are trained for many other roles that perhaps the public are not so familiar with. To describe a few:-

Disease surveillance. With about 500 veterinarians in rural practice in New Zealand having an average of 30 farmer contacts a day, there is every opportunity for unusual clinical signs and disease outbreaks to be reported through veterinary practitioners to the Ministry of Agriculture. This continuous watch dog role, picking up a suspicious situation in farm stock, is crucial to keeping New Zealand free of exotic disease.

Ensuring food safety. Consumers want primary products, like milk and meat, to be wholesome and safe for them and their families to eat. Animal health programs that reduce chemical and animal remedy use and utilise good management systems, should be put in place by a veterinarian in consultation with his/her farmer client. Inspections and certification of product safety by veterinarians give the consumer confidence in what he/she is about to eat.

Rural veterinarians meet with the farming community in a variety of ways ranging from direct farmer requests to visit the farm, to phone calls, clinic visits by farmers and woolshed meetings.  Many other opportunities arise as well.

Veterinarians are a major source of information to farmers and provide a much-used conduit for the transfer of technology between researchers and end-users.

In a survey carried out by Agriculture New Zealand, it was found that just over half the pastoral farmers contacted said they had obtained their technical information from veterinarians over the last year.

Farmers are inundated with choices to be made in how they conduct their businesses.  Knowledge is one of the key services that veterinarians are able to provide.

The New Zealand Veterinary Association continues to provide support for its members, thereby assisting them to meet the high standards of service demanded of them by their farmer clients.

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State Veterinary Services
(Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry - MAF)

• knowledge of legislation, standards
• disease control
• disease surveillance/status of NZ
• border protection
• quarantine
• certification of product e.g. dairy, meat, animals
• animal trade
• animal welfare investigations
• agricultural policy
• design of relevant legislation

State Owned Enterprises

With the restructuring of MAF in 1998, two State Owned Enterprises (SOE's) were created.

1. AgriQuality New Zealand Limited
2. Assure New Zealand Limited

These are 100% State owned limited liability companies.  AgriQuality New Zealand Limited employs information from the former MAF Quality Management in providing various previously State provided services, e.g.. bovine tuberculosis control.

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Teaching

• Training veterinary nurses / veterinarians
• Training other groups allied to veterinary science e.g. animal behaviourists, guide dog trainers

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