Australian Veterinary Association

The situation's even more dire in rural areas where there's a shortage of vets in general and not a lot of support for students wanting to do placements.

Gabrielle Hodson spoke with Australian Veterinary Association President Dr Diana Barker.

I mean, Victorian vets are at the front line of the H5 bird flu response.

And our concerns from the Australian Veterinary Association perspective is that a lot of that work that they're doing at the moment is unpaid.

When a person in the public sees a dead or unwell bird, there's a public expectation that someone will look at that bird and care for it if it's able to be rehabilitated.

And obviously that person that people look to is the veterinary workforce.

Job can be challenging when you're working hard on farms and treating the pets in rural areas.

It is an incredibly rewarding job, but it is a challenging job.

They want a capable human being who can look them in the eye, understand the context and help make a difficult decision.

Now, the Australian Veterinary Association's guide on telemedicine makes a similar practical point.

Technology can improve access and delivery, but there are circumstances where a physical examination and genuine veterinary and client-patient relationship remain important.

AI can support professional judgment.

You know, so it like...

Cats particularly, even cat specialist vets now, you know, for quite a few years, they actually, the main cat specialist vet group left the Australian Veterinary Association because they couldn't put up with the AVA having sponsored, you know, dried food conferences and et cetera, and advertising it.

And that was a long, that was decades ago that happened.

You know, it's just a scientific fact.