N.B. government extending vet services to next March after meeting Agricultural Alliance

New Brunswick agreed to extend vet services until 2027, after their plans to privatize were met with protest.

The Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick says the provincial government is extending its equine veterinary services to next March after previously saying it would move those services to the private sector.

After a meeting the Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries on Friday, the alliance said the province has agreed to extend those services to at least March 31, 2027.

“The province has also committed to monthly meetings with the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick to collaboratively determine a path forward for the long-term delivery of veterinary and laboratory services in the province,” a news release from the alliance reads.

Last March, the province said it would be moving its veterinary field and lab services to the private sector over the next three fiscal years.

At the time, Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Pat Finnigan said New Brunswick is one of only two Canadian provinces that still run government-funded veterinary services.

More than half of the services are for horses, 27 per cent are for commercial livestock and 19 per cent focus on hobby farms and companion animals. The services cost the province about $4 million a year.

The decision prompted backlash and a rally with roughly 150 New Brunswick farmers outside the provincial legislature. A petition against the move received more than 31,000 signatures.

“Other Atlantic provinces depend on NB for timely results during outbreaks, and rabies was confirmed in the province as recently as this week,” the alliance said in its news release. “Without access to veterinary and laboratory services, farms cannot meet their legal obligations, cannot protect their animals, and cannot operate.

“The farming community of this province has been clear: this is the wrong decision. They remain ready as they always have been to work with the government as partners in building a stronger New Brunswick.”

With files from CTV News’s Laura Brown

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