Rata Kararehe Veterinary Services and Animal Care

In 1856, a hospital for sick horses was opened in the Hutt Valley by J.W. Woodhouse, but it wasn’t until over 100 years later, in 1962, that a formal training programme was set up for veterinarians in Aotearoa.

Today, Aotearoa veterinary nurses support veterinarians across the country to care for all kinds of animals, from domestic pets to larger pets and farm animals. In 2021, we counted 7,740 people in the veterinary nursing workforce.

The Veterinary industry has reported ongoing problems with attracting and retaining staff. The composition of the workforce is 82% female and 6% Māori. Relatively low pay in respect to the amount of training required; the emotionally and mentally challenging nature of the role, which can involve supporting people through animal and pet hardship and in some cases death; and cases of conflicts with customers are said to have contributed to the attraction and retention issues. With more cows in Aotearoa than people, there is a relatively high need for veterinary nurses in rural areas. However, enticing new graduates to isolated rural areas remains a challenge for the industry.

Find out about our work to assess the quality of programmes delivered by providers for this industry here.

A snapshot of the Veterinary Services and Animal Care workforce development plan is available for download here. Please note that this reflects a point in time (July 2024). The most up to date information is on the workforce development plans website.