Zoetis and Beyond Blue continue to support mental health in rural communities and our veterinarians

Rural Australia

Leading Animal Health company Zoetis continues to support the mental health challenges faced by people in rural Australia through its crucial partnership with Beyond Blue, committing to raise up to $100,000 to support the charity in 2024.

Tragically, suicide rates of people in remote areas are double that in our major cities.¹ Zoetis, who works closely with rural Australia through interactions with the country’s farmers, agricultural stores, veterinarians and their families, has helped raise $800,000 in the past eight years by donating $5 from each sale of the company’s livestock, pig and poultry vaccines and drenches. The money raised goes directly to Beyond Blue’s Support Service to continue to help more people in rural communities than anywhere else in Australia.

 “Zoetis is proud to once again be supporting Beyond Blue and the important work they do,” says Lance Williams, Senior Zoetis Vice President and Cluster Lead, Australia and New Zealand. “Together we’ve made strong progress in providing tangible contributions to raise awareness of mental health challenges and help fund much needed services that directly assist rural families. We are passionate about the importance of good mental wellbeing and look forward to helping again this year.”

 Whilst it’s well-known our farmers can be vulnerable to mental health challenges due to stressful weather associated events and financial worries, the impact on the wider community in these areas is little known - from farmers and their families, to re-sellers, regional businesses, and much of the community as the effects trickle through the local economy.

Together we strive for better mental health support for veterinary professionals-Help Zoetis raise the next $100,000 for Beyond Blue

Sadly, vets and the broader the veterinary profession are known to disproportionately suffer from mental health issues. With a deep commitment to an industry they love, vets are often subjected to long hours, the complex financial challenges of running a practice, covering huge geographical areas, and engaging in debilitating, emotional conversations with pet, livestock and equine owners when seeking to deliver best practice medicine.

With a decline in vet numbers, coupled with the increasing rates of pet ownership in Australia, an increased workload and workflow for veterinary practices can lead to burnout, ill health and diminished wellbeing.

At Zoetis, we recognise there is a role for us to play in improving the support of veterinarians to enable them to better cope with the challenges of their profession, improve their wellbeing, and to break the stigma surrounding mental health.

Now in its nineth year, Zoetis is aiming to raise another $100,000 for Beyond Blue.

To date, Zoetis has helped raise over $800,000 by donating $5 from products sold during the annual campaign periods. All funds raised by Zoetis go towards the Beyond Blue support service which has supported over 15,500 Australians get the help they need.

Zoetis is proud to have partnered with Greencross, Vet Partners Australia, as well as independent clinic groups, to ‘start a conversation’ about the importance of mental health in our industry and to help connect veterinary professionals with support services and tools – like Beyond Blue.

Purchase any Zoetis companion animal or livestock product and we will donate $5 towards Beyond Blue, until we reach $100,000.

15/07/2024 – 31/10/2024

• Click here to view our on-demand webinar featuring Dr. Natasha Wilks (High Performance Vets) discussing information and advice on maintaining mental wellbeing in practice.
• Visit www.beyondblue.org.au or to talk to a Beyond Blue mental health professional free of charge, 24/7 on 1300 22 46 36.
• Free web chat is also available from 3pm until midnight at beyondblue.org.au/getsupport and you can join the forums for free and download the safety planning BeyondNow app from the website.

Vet Life Australia (the website of Australian Veterinary Mental Health Awareness and Suicide prevention) reports:

• 30.6% of veterinarians suffer stress
• 25.6% of veterinarians suffer from depression
• 26.4% suffer work-related burnout
• Veterinarians have almost four times the suicide rate of the Australian population. This equates to a veterinarian taking their own life on average every 12 weeks in Australia

Zoetis has teamed up with Beyond Blue to provide resources to help people in Australia manage their mental health.

We all have good days and bad days. Then there are those days when something isn't quite right, you've got something on your mind, you’re having trouble sleeping, or things just seem too much. Some people experience these feelings intensely, for long periods of time (weeks, months or even years) - it's important to remember that support is available, and things can get better.

Anxiety and depression checklist Use this simple checklist to find out if you may have been affected by anxiety and depression during the past four weeks. The higher your score, the more likely you are to be experiencing anxiety and/or depression.

Getting support There are a range of effective ways to treat anxiety and depression, and the sooner you seek support, the sooner you can start to recover. Find out more here.

‘Making time for me’

Dr Natasha Wilks Vet Story

Read about Natasha’s experiences with mental health and the importance of ‘Making time for me’