News & Advice

Vetlife Scientific has recently published the results of a trial set up to investigate whether individual animals affected by worms could be identified through changes in the animals’ behaviour. The research, published in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal, tracked the behaviour of 36 five- to six-month-old Friesian-Jersey heifer calves over nine weeks using animal-mounted, accelerometer-based […]

This is a summary of a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2024 by Vetlife Scientific on behalf of the Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) Background Following concerns from deer farmers about a novel severe form of lameness in adult stags[1] a national cross-sectional survey was developed by the authors of this study to estimate the prevalence […]

This year has been tough for deer farmers, with uncertainties over continued access to overseas export markets, mixed pricing messages and an increasingly fragmented market. Vetlife recognises the challenges facing its farming clients and is committed to supporting animal agriculture in New Zealand for the long haul. Part of this undertaking includes continuing to invest […]

We are heading into a dry-looking March as I write this but, with a bit of luck, much-needed rain will have fallen by the time you read this latest copy of the Vetlife Rural Newsletter. Sooner or later it is going to rain, and there are a few health conditions that are worth considering when […]

Resistance to worm drenches is a well recognised issue in the sheep industry, but it is also starting to become more common amongst mobs of dairy heifer replacements in their first season’s grazing.  Unfortunately, New Zealand leads the world in the occurrence of drench resistance amongst cattle parasites.  Although there are a lot of factors […]