By Angela Brown

Province offering support for rural veterinary services

Apr 28, 2021 | 1:27 PM

NORTH BATTLEFORD — There will be more opportunities to increase the number of veterinary services for large animals and farm animals in rural Saskatchewan with some new incentives recently announced by the province.

The province is introducing three new initiatives to help meet the need. In the province’s first incentive, for the veterinary technologist program offered through Saskatchewan Polytechnic, students will now be able to begin their studies from their local community as the program will have an option for online virtual delivery. They can then complete the program at a partnering clinical practice with local veterinarians in rural areas.

For the second initiative, the province offers a loan forgiveness program for both veterinarian and vet technologist new graduates committed to working in a rural area in the immediate future. They will have up to $20,000 of their Saskatchewan student loan forgiven if they work in rural and remote communities for up to five years.

For the third initiative, the province announced three of the 20 seats it funds at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine will now be reserved for students with an interest in working in rural Saskatchewan in a large-animal and/or rural mixed animal practice.

Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association (SCA) Chair Arnold Balicki said he is pleased with the province’s strategy and hopes the programs help bring more vets and vet techs to practice in rural Saskatchewan.

Election 2024

Moe makes campaign stop in P.A. to talk tax benefits

14m ago

Election 2024

Corrections officer running again in Ward 1

7h ago

Court proceedings

Not guilty verdict in Byron Bear murder case

20h ago

“Addressing the diminishing number of large-animal vets practicing in rural Saskatchewan has been a topic of discussion on a number of occasions at our SCA board table,” he said. “When the [province’s] announcement was made, we were pretty excited about that.”

Balicki, who is based just north of Shellbrook, northeast of North Battleford, said farm animals, just like people, must have timely access to a doctor to obtain medical treatment and attention to their issues when they need it.

“We have for a long time been losing large-animal vets in rural Saskatchewan, and it’s been a huge concern for the welfare of our animals,” he said.

The SCA continues to partner on the preceptorship program with the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association to help third-year students try out practices in rural Saskatchewan.

“Everybody is trying to do everything to encourage more young vets to want to go to rural Saskatchewan,” Balicki said.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit hopes the province’s three-prong incentive strategy is successful in helping fill the gap.

“We did hear pretty loud and clear from the livestock sector that there was an urgent need for more large-animal vets in rural Saskatchewan,” he said. “That’s why the government took this initiative to offer these benefits to those students, [and] encourage them to take large-animal veterinary medicine.”

–

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow