THERE is a shortage of veterinarians in Australia generally but this problem is especially acute in most areas of rural and remote Australia. The list of reasons for the shortage is long and not the subject of this discussion except to say that considering the production rate of new graduates and the declining chances that these new vets will choose to work in rural Australia, the deficit is certain to become substantially worse in the coming decades unless dramatic changes are made.
Most current suggestions on how to fix the problem are typically traditional approaches such as…