I have pets and I cannot imagine driving my sick animals in a distressed state for over an hour to get help. The recent removal of out-of-hours veterinary services by IVC Evidensia from Speyside, Wards & Seafield veterinary practices to either Inverness or Aberdeen has left many pet owners in Moray without local and immediate access to critical care for their beloved animals.

This change forces us to travel long distances during emergencies, which is both stressful and potentially life-threatening for our pets. Whilst this policy might work well in areas where there is good out of hours public transport and different road infrastructures are in place, the North East of Scotland is predominantly rural, with smaller roads that are prone to accidents. Trying to concentrate on these routes while driving in a distressed state poses serious risks.

It has also effectively completely removed access to out of hours services for people with animals who cannot drive. In order to get to either practice on public transport it would take between 3-5hours and a minimum of one change if it were at a time when transport was still running and you lived in a place that was lucky enough to be on the main bus routes. 

Distances from the individual practices one way including MINIMUM travel time to the out of hours services according to google maps in reality most people will have further to travel as these practices cover a wide area, it also does not factor in weather, slow moving vehicles and many of the other hazards we can face when using these roads therefore in truth travel times are going to be longer:

Highland Vet Emergencies 

Aberlour Veterinary Centre 53 miles 1 Hour 8 mins 

Fochabers Vets 49 miles 1 Hour 8 mins

Wards Vets 41 miles 56 minutes

Vets Now Aberdeen

Seafield Vets Keith 47 miles 54 minutes

Seafield Vets Buckie 59 miles 1 hour 12 minutes

Local practices previously provided timely and efficient care that ensured the well-being of our furry family members. We urge IVC Evidensia to reinstate out of hours & emergency care to Moray. Please sign this petition to help ensure that no pet suffers due to lack of local emergency veterinary care.