Having trouble finding a veterinarian? Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC) recently created an online database of veterinary clinics in the province. The list is searchable in a radius of up to 200 kilometres and can be refined for specific species.
“We often hear of people who have diverse livestock species like llamas, alpacas, honeybees, and the odd person who has smaller livestock who is having trouble finding a vet,” said Dr. Melissa Moggy, a veterinarian and extension coordinator with AFAC. “For ranchers with larger animals, this will also be available to them.”
The goal is to pair rural veterinarians with livestock owners and help more precisely identify where the shortfall of veterinarians is occurring.
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“We know that it’s in the hundreds,” said Moggy.
The database is also designed to help new vets in an area connect with livestock owners.
“We hope that eventually, as veterinarians get added to the database, that will ensure they have a good client base or are at least starting off on a good foot.”
There are more than 800 vacancies in the veterinary profession in Alberta, a situation that poses a risk to animal welfare and livestock production, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association said this summer.
“It’s a complicated crisis,” association vice-president Dr. Natasha Kutryk said in June. “The biggest thing here in Alberta is educational investment has just not kept pace with the surge in demand.”
The doubling of enrolment at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary over the next three years will provide some relief but will take time, she said.
AFAC contacted the veterinary association to get approval for the project. A group of University of Alberta students then surveyed veterinarians and compiled responses on where they practice and whether they were willing to travel and how far. They also collected data on clinical specialization and telemedicine availability.
The searchable database can be found at afac.ab.ca/veterinarian-clinics.
“You can go in and say, ‘I’m looking for someone to treat my goats, this is my postal code and I’m looking for someone within 200 kilometres,” said Moggy. “I’ve heard great things about it already from producers and some of our associations that we partner with. I’ve already received requests from other veterinary clinics wanting to be added to the database.”
Mallory Kaiser, president of the Alberta Goat Association, helped come up with the idea. The organization regularly received emails from members searching for veterinary care, especially south of Red Deer.
“People retire and things happen,” she said. “It was difficult to keep up with who was doing what in the industry.”
Kaiser said there’s a similar grain industry app that helps farmers find grain elevators within a certain distance. She said it’s great to see the idea being used in the veterinary sector.
“If someone asked me, ‘who is our nearest bee vet?’ in a general conversation at a little community hall, I wouldn’t know what to tell them,” she said. “What we’ve seen on our social media is everybody is saying this is perfect. It’s exactly what we need and what we are looking for.”
The database isn’t just about finding a general veterinarian. It’s about finding one who understands the needs of a particular species and can dispense needed medication.
“We have it shared on the Alberta Goat front page,” said Kaiser.
