Dairy farms left without emergency veterinary care

The departure, coupled with an inability to recruit a new vet, has meant that the practice is now unable to provide farm visits from an on-island vet.

But a remote vet will be on hand to help.

An Isabelle Vets spokesman said the decision had not been a commercial one.

‘We have been advertising for mixed vets, who treat all species, for several years,’ a practice representative said.

‘The practice’s farm work has dropped off massively, and now only equates to an average of two visits a week, so it has proved impossible to recruit a full-time farm vet.’

In a statement, the practice said that it had informed the States in August 2022 of its situation and had been working closely with the States’ veterinary officer, along with farmers and the Guernsey Farmers Association, to discuss a service going forward.

States Vet David Chamberlain said he only found out about the problem at a meeting in September – three months ago – after there were some missed opportunities at communication. He said it was not surprising that it was hard to find a mixed vet, who could handle livestock like cows, as well as companion animals like dogs and cats.

‘Nowadays vets are more specialised, so it is quite unusual to have a mixed animal vet,’ he said.

He added that even if there was a single mixed vet on-island it was always going to be difficult, as there would be no one to cover for them.

The need for cow veterinary care has been dropping, but this is not due to fewer animals.

Mr Chamberlain said while the number of farms has dropped from 100 to 11 in recent years, the number of milking cows had stayed stable at about 2,500.

‘The farmers are much better at looking after them now, and so the same volume of care is not needed,’ he said.

‘The farmers have their husbandry, so we don’t see as many problems. We know a lot more about the environment cows like, so they have a better environment.’

There is currently a UK-wide shortage of vets, but Mr Chamberlain said as Isabelle Vets had become part of VetPartners this summer, he was hopeful it would have been able to find a suitable vet from within the group.

Isabelle Vets stated it would offer a remote service, with a farm vet visiting from the UK several times a month according to demand.

Farmers will also be able to seek veterinary advice from a VetPartners farm vet 24 hours a day.

‘Isabelle Vets will continue to support farmers in Guernsey and in an emergency situation, our vets can provide pain relief or euthanasia, and we will provide a base and vehicle for the visiting farm vet,’ the spokesman said.