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Farmers in west Donegal are angry at the increase in call-out fees for out-of-hours veterinary attention from one practice.
Gerald Roarty’s practice in Letterkenny is charging €500 for a farm call-out or €200 if an animal is brought to the vet hospital outside normal working hours. Roarty told the Irish Farmers Journal this is due to a shortage of vets and will be resolved next week when new staff join his practice.
However, the vet said that while his new staff are a short-term solution, it does not solve the wider problem of the shortage of large animal vets in rural areas.
Manus McGee, Falcarragh
“I know one person who has been asked [for the €500 call out fee]; the farmer treated the animal himself. What’s happened is we have one big practice where there were many small ones. Milford practice closed late last year and there’s less competition. If you asked someone out to save a calf, €500 is a bit much.
“A lot of young vets who qualify decide they aren’t interested in big animals. They want to go into small animals. Maybe they should discriminate in favour of people interested in farm animals.”
Catherine Devine, Churchill
“I think the price is disgraceful. There should be a slight increase across the board. It’s not sustainable for people and it is a massive animal welfare issue.
“Farmers are over a barrel because if they need the service they have to pay it and if a cow needs a C-section you are not going to put her into a trailer for a long journey.
“It is a big problem getting people to work here because of the nature of the county.”
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