Tim Cushing sits in front of his microscope at the New Brunswick Provincial Veterinary Laboratory, the province’s center for monitoring and diagnosing animal disease, wondering about the future.
Cushing is a veterinary anatomic pathologist and he works alongside a team to diagnose and survey disease in animals across the province which can be passed to humans. They study cows, horses, wildlife, dogs, cats and occasionally zoo animals.
The provincial laboratory is the target of recent budget cuts and is facing closure by March 31, 2028.
“This testing is an insurance policy for the animal agriculture industry in this province and beyond and like potato growers, blueberry growers, tomato growers, they have crop insurance. … I believe we are that insurance policy for animal agriculture,” said Cushing.
The province plans to convert its veterinary service to the private sector, which worries Cushing who said the value of the laboratory isn’t recognized.
“Unfortunately, the value that we provide to the province is not easily outlined on a single budgetary line,” he said.
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Provincial vet questions decision to cut lab services
New Brunswick’s veterinary laboratory works to identify diseases in animals, including cows, wildlife and cats. The province announced the service will close by March 2028 and be replaced by the private sector.
Cushing is often performing autopsies, blood work or studying tissue samples that come from around New Brunswick,
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