difficult decisions

Farmers, ranchers and livestock owners gathered in front of the Legislative Assembly to protest cuts to provincial field vet services.

Cuts to these services were announced when the Holt government tabled its 2026-27 budget.

Malcolm Gilbert, a beef farmer from Burton, was one of the farmers protesting cuts in Fredericton this week. He says the government needs to take a step back and change their plans.

“I’m a farmer, so I want to see those services maintained. I am here to protest to make sure they maintain the vet services and lab services for the farmers of this province,” said Gilbert.

The Burton local says people might not realize that farmers pay for these services. He says he would pay more to keep it around.

“This government is looking at a very small amount of money to keep this vet service compared to what else is being spent in the 1.3-billion-dollar budget,” Gilbert stated.

In the last month, Gilbert has had vet services out to his farm several times.

“I had vet services out for a plain calf and a C-section on a cow. I would have lost both of those if it weren’t for these services … whether it’s three o’clock in the afternoon or three in the morning, the vets respond, and they come,” he said.

Gilbert says if these services are privatized, he does not believe that readiness to respond will be there.

“We also need the lab for testing and the medications that the vets bring with them. [Holt] needs to talk to us about what we can do to maintain this service,” he said.

The province plans to phase services out over the next three years by discontinuing provincial vet field services by the end of March 2027, with services for horses concluding three months prior.

Lab functions would then transfer to the private sector, which currently has 72 qualified vet clinics across New Brunswick. The Holt government says this transition would create opportunities for those private clinics to expand their business and serve more clients.

The final phase would provide ongoing support for underserved areas, according to a pamphlet supplied to the media.

Jennifer Gordon runs Off Grid Acres, a small hobby farm in Carleton County, New Brunswick. She says that everyone north of Fredericton will be left without vet services.

“Well, the amount of private vets there are is limited, so logistically, as it is right now, it’s not even possible [to privatize vet services],” said Gordon.

Gordon says provincial vet services are essential to how farms like hers operate. “They are keeping our herds healthy. [Vets] are screening and preventing diseases from spreading to the herd, but also for public safety. Without our vets, we will have no farms, period.”

New Brunswick is currently one of two provinces that still provide veterinary services as a public service.

A petition put together by those opposed to the changes now has over 31,000 signatures.