Mark Bryan (veterinarian)

This article is about the New Zealand veterinary researcher. For the American musician, see Mark Bryan. For the American painter, see Mark Bryan (artist).
Mark Bryan

2016
Residence New Zealand
Education

BSc (Vet), Glasgow University 1988

Masters in Epidemiology 2004
Board member of New Zealand Veterinary Association
Awards Finalist, 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Mark Bryan is a veterinarian and researcher working in New Zealand. He is a director of VetSouth, one of two clinical research clinics in the South Island. He has promoted methods to retain quality staff in rural practice and to improve veterinary services and research. In 2013 he was a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.[1]

Career

Bryan qualified as a veterinarian in Glasgow, Scotland in 1988 and in 2004 gained his Masters in Epidemiology. Bryan moved to New Zealand in 1995 and to his current practice in 1997.

Bryan identified that many rural practices had difficulty in retaining staff. From 1997 when he joined Central Southland Vets in Winton, heading up the dairy side of the practice, to 2001, when he became a director, the practice had doubled in vet numbers and quadrupled in dairy farm numbers.[2] He is the Managing Director of VetSouth. VetSouth was formed in 2005 when the Winton practice joined with a practice in nearby Gore. Creating VetSouth was about elevating rural vet practice with the dual effect of being able to retain the best staff in a rural setting and to ensure that farmers receive first rate veterinary services. The size also makes it possible for the practice to both participate in research and to more readily test new ideas such as improving the measurement of body condition scores (BCS) in dairy cows.[3]

Bryan was aware of the XLvet concept[4] from the UK that bought together the most progressive vet practices working together to provide the very best in veterinary services. Bryan brought the concept to New Zealand. With significant resources available, Bryan and VetSouth have been instrumental in developing Welfarm in conjunction with XLvets.[5] Welfarm is a program that measures the wellbeing of dairy cows. In 2014/15 the program ran with 150 farms and 84,325 cows. With these numbers, it is possible now to do accurate benchmarking that should lead to better outcomes for the cows, the farms and the industry. In September 2016, the program with the support of the New Zealand Veterinary Association went national.[6]

Bryan's veterinary service created an app called Disease and Mortality Incident Tracker, or dam-iT, to capture disease and mortality data in production animals. This project will provide a baseline of normal mortality rates on NZ farms as there are no national disease statistics.[7] Creation of the app was partly prompted by deaths on HT [herbicide tolerant] swedes and fodder beet in 2014 and following years.[8][9]

VetSouth has been running the Welfarm pilot for 3 years and have identified the use of antibiotics[10] as an issue to address. The New Zealand Veterinary Association, which Bryan is a board member, has recently announced that they are aiming to phase out the use of non- essential antibiotic usage by 2030.Their strategic intent is that “by 2030, NZ Inc would not need antibiotics for the maintenance of animal health and welfare”[11]

Bryan is active in the veterinary and general communities promoting animal welfare and good veterinary practices. He spoke at the 2015 Pan Pacific Veterinary Conference[12] and at the NZ Skeptics Conference in 2016.[13]

Publications

Articles

Conference Papers

References

  1. Russell, Terri (2013-08-08). "Vet surprised at being picked as finalist". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  2. "Mark Bryan". VetSouth - Production Animals. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  3. Bryan, Mark. "Measuring to manage feed options". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  4. "Who we are". www.xlvets.co.uk. XLVets. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  5. "XLVets New Zealand". www.xlvets.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  6. "Animal welfare project launched". Stuff. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  7. "App tracks animal deaths". Stuff. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  8. "HT swede risks far higher". Stuff. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  9. "Veterinarians release report on cows swede-related deaths". Stuff. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  10. Bryan, Mark. "Elephants in the room". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
  11. Bryan, Mark. "The post-antibiotic world: 100 years of history?". Farmers Weekly. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  12. "Mark Bryan's schedule for 2015 Pan Pacific Veterinary Conference". panpac2015.sched.org. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  13. "Mark Bryan". NZ Skeptics Conference 2016. 2016-09-04. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
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