Securing veterinary services in Tuusula

The council has been informed that the excellent and professional veterinary services in Tuusula are to be regionalised. The reason for this is that Nurmijärvi is apparently the only place that has a municipal property that is of a suitable size and price and is suitable for use as a veterinary clinic. As Tuusula does not have such a property, but only expensive private premises, there is a real risk that Tuusula’s public veterinary services will be transferred from Tuusula to Nurmijärvi or Hyvinkää, for example. This is a significant problem for many residents of Tuusula, as the municipal veterinary services in Tuusula have provided highly skilled and cost-effective public animal healthcare to residents. The matter should be examined particularly from the perspective of the Animal Welfare Act, which in several sections also addresses the obligations of municipalities with regard to sick and rescued animals. According to section 3, animal husbandry must take into account the need to promote animal health and avoid causing unnecessary pain. Section 5 directly states that animals must receive appropriate care when they fall ill. I would also like to highlight section 14, which states that sick animals must be helped, and section 15, which states that municipalities must arrange for the temporary care of stray and rescued dogs, cats and other small companion and hobby animals found in their area. According to the law, animals must have access to prompt treatment, and preferably even faster. This also means that there must be an on-call veterinary service. The municipal veterinarian in Tuusula has sent found animals to Onnentassu after examination. How will this be organised in the future?

The municipality’s obligations and animal welfare considerations must also take into account low-income residents or those who are dependent on public services, for whom travelling to Nurmijärvi, for example, may be unreasonably expensive or difficult with a sick animal. The cost of private services may also be high for many pet owners, especially if their animal is frequently ill. The municipality should ensure that important statutory public services can continue to be provided in its own municipality and that we do not lose services to other municipalities because we have been unable to anticipate the need for the organisation or location of services.

I therefore propose that the municipality should investigate the possibility of providing veterinary services in the Tuusula municipality area to the Central Uusimaa Environment Centre for the organisation of regional veterinary services.

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