Australia's veterinarian shortage has been "particularly tough" in the past 12 months, according to an employment expert who blames stress, financial pressure and long hours, along with abuse and "emotional blackmail" from pet owners, for the problem.

Key points: It has become difficult to fill vet roles due to a number of conditions, including low starting salary and a five-year degree

It has become difficult to fill vet roles due to a number of conditions, including low starting salary and a five-year degree Clients complain to vets about prices and use emotional blackmail

Clients complain to vets about prices and use emotional blackmail The suicide rate among vets is worryingly high

Vets are also four times more likely to take their own life than others, which is double the suicide rate of doctors, pharmacists, dentists and nurses.

The Animal Emergency Centre (AEC) in Noosaville, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, was forced to close for 12 hours on Sunday as no-one could fill a shift.

An AEC spokesperson said it was "very rare" for an emergency centre to have to close because of staff availability, but it was the second time in a year.

Former veterinarian Wendy Nathan runs Australia's largest veterinary employment website, Kookaburra Veterinary Employment, and said it had become difficult to fill roles.

The site currently has more than 430 vet roles advertised.

Dr Nathan said the shortage was not helped by the high university entrance requirement, the five-year study period, and the low starting salary compared to dentists and engineers.

"In theory there should be enough, yet vet clinics are short of vets and can't get vets to fill shifts," Dr Nathan said.

Veterinarian Matt Rosen, director of the Tanawha Animal Emergency Service, assists a tetanus patient. ( Supplied: Matt Rosen )

Veterinarian Matt Rosen from the Animal Emergency Service at Tanawha, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, said a large factor for people leaving the profession was the manipulation vets received from people who could not afford their bills.

"We get some people who complain about the price and use emotional blackmail," Dr Rosen said.

"They will say, 'It's not about the money, I thought you loved animals' — and we do.

"You wouldn't be in this profession if you didn't love animals, but we don't get the same subsidies you get for humans and it costs the same to treat."

Vets abused, left in debt

Dr Rosen said people who complained when it came to paying their pets' vet bills made it much harder on vets.

Dr Rosen is a partner at the Tanawha practice, which is equipped with ultrasound machines, X-ray machines and other emergency medical equipment you would find in a hospital, but the veterinary practice must rely on pet owners, not the government, to pay an animal's bill.

"People throw the emotional blackmail at you, you give in to them, and then you are left with $10,000 debts," he said.

"The reason people leave the industry is they do get abuse and it is another reason the suicide rates are high.

"They're conflicted so much. They want to do as much as they can for the animal but there is no-one to pay for it.

"There is nothing worse than making a seven-year-old cry in your surgery because you can't treat a pet."

A fish hook being retrieved via endoscopy at the Tanawha Animal Emergency Service. ( Supplied: Matt Rosen )

Dr Nathan said the shortage of vets was making it worse for those in practice.

"Vet clinics are short of vets. They can't get vets to fill shifts," she said.

"They need to give vets a good quality of life so they are not working 60 hours a week."

Increased suicide risk

The suicide rate among vets is worryingly high.

The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) website advises that vets are at a "significantly higher risk of suicide than the general population".

"While other healthcare professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, dentists and nurses are around twice as likely to commit suicide than the general population, veterinarians have been shown to be up to four times more likely to fall victim to suicide," the website states.

Dr Rosen said some of his colleagues had taken their own lives.

"A certain number of colleagues have suicided. This is a well-recognised fact in our profession," he said.

"We have a lot of stress packed upon on us, there is emotional stress, and we work long hours.

"Usually people who go into veterinary science are highly motivated and put a lot of stress on themselves.

"If you have a pre-existing illness like depression, then you have the emotional stress at work and access to medication that can facilitate it, it all adds up."

AVA president Paula Parker said there was a high demand for vets in emergency clinics and in rural and regional areas.

"What we do is work with the business owners and employers on how we can make a business as attractive as possible and veterinarians as happy as possible," she said.

The AVA also had a number of programs to assist with mental health issues vets face, including a 24-hour counselling service, a benevolent fund, and training so every veterinary facility in Australia has a person who is able to provide first aid and to help those in crisis.

'They need a lot of support'

Dr Nathan puts the issue of vet retention partly down to prolonged stress.

"Vets are high-achieving kinds of people. To get in to university you need exceptionally good grades at school," she said.

"They want to get everything right and doing vet medicine is a very stressful job.

They may need a job that is not so stressful, so they move out of the profession even though they love doing what they do."

Dr Nathan knows this firsthand as she was a vet who moved out of the profession.

"Vet clinics don't get support from the system like Medicare. They have to invest money into equipment and digital systems, they need CT scanners and to keep upgrading the premises.

"Vets also do a lot of free work for wildlife, so there are not always the best salaries available to … vets."