Vet scheme expansion

A new wider cash bonus for veterinary graduates, who work with farm animals, could make rural practice more inviting.

The Government's voluntary bonding scheme for veterinarians is to be expanded to cover all practices that deal with production animals, Agriculture Minister David Carter announced. It had been in only limited areas.

But numbers are to be capped to keep within the Government's budget.

The scheme, launched last year, encourages new graduates to stay in an eligible practice by providing a payment of $11,000 for every year, up to five years, that they are working in the practice. The scheme was originally aimed at practices in specific rural areas. Since then, 20 vets have been accepted.

Veterinarian manager at Totally Vets, Nigel Coddington says the company will now qualify. It has clinics in Feilding and Palmerston North.

A wider range of veterinary practices qualify for the bonus scheme and they are now not disadvantaged in offering a job to a graduate Mr Coddington said.

"The scheme is still only for new graduates going into rural practice. I would still only employ a vet that really wanted to be in rural practice. But it may reduce the brain drain to overseas markets of our new graduates."

Practices must show that they are at risk of having a vet shortage.

The revised scheme will not apply retrospectively. Only those who have graduated from 2009 onwards will be eligible and it is to be capped at 30 a year.

Mr Coddington said the impact of the cap and the first come, first served is that it means rural practices need to make their mind up if they want to employ a new grad in a production animal capacity early on in the year.

"If it is left too late, then all the potential benefits may have gone. In the situation where an existing production animal vet left late in the year, and the practice elected to offer the position to a new grad, then the benefits may not be there."

The revised scheme takes effect from February 23.

- © Fairfax NZ News