May 20th, 2024When an animal disease emergency happens…

When Dr Matt Boon from Prime Livestock Veterinary Services put his hand up to work on emergency animal disease outbreaks, he did it with the bigger picture in mind.

“As advocates for the Australian livestock industry, livestock vets like me have a moral obligation to step up and give a hand,” he said.

Matt operates a mobile livestock service in the north-east and signed up to join Agriculture Victoria’s Emergency Veterinary Response Team last year.

In February, Matt was deployed to support an emergency anthrax response and worked alongside a team of animal health and welfare staff to vaccinate livestock for anthrax in the Shepparton region.

“I came away from the experience with a deeper insight into what goes into an emergency disease response and the challenges that come with managing an outbreak.

“It was very different work to what private vets are usually doing day-to-day on farms. It was rewarding to work alongside government vets and to better understand the role they play for the industry,” Matt said.

To respond to the challenges of future emergency animal disease outbreaks, Agriculture Victoria believes we need more private vets like Matt to be part of the puzzle.

“I’d encourage other private vets out there to get involved! If you can spare the time, there’s nothing to lose and so much to gain. I’m certainly glad I put my hand up to be involved,” Matt said.

Casual employment is now available as an emergency response veterinary officer and veterinary businesses can sign up via service level agreements.

Agriculture Victoria is currently promoting signing on as a chance for private sector vets to share their expertise, learn new skills and help protect our agricultural sector and communities.

Image: Agriculture Victoria