Declining engagement of veterinary services in Australian animal production systems: why has this occurred and what are the risks?

The provision of veterinary services is essential to deliver animal health and welfare outcomes, but over the last several decades demand for veterinary services in animal production systems has broadly declined in Australia. Reduced demand is closely related to a decline in the size of the production animal veterinary workforce, and there is evidence that the percentage of veterinarians participating in the delivery of veterinary services to animal production systems has lessened. Reduced demand for veterinary services in the production animal sector is likely to be attributed to several factors, including challenges around widespread adoption of preventive veterinary services, improved self-efficacy of producers through advancement of knowledge, and potential concern by producers over the role of veterinarians in production animal systems. Declining veterinary engagement results in increased risk at both the individual farm level (diminished expertise to deliver reactive and proactive veterinary services) and at a population level (increased biosecurity risk and risk to social licence to operate). The current environment and the community trust in the profession should be seen as an opportunity to develop and implement a strategy to halt and reverse the decline in demand for production animal veterinary services. Such a strategy will require significant and sustained collaboration between the veterinary profession, Industry and government.