Latest figures from the Association of Veterinary Students show just one in 10 now wants a career as a farm vet compared with one in every two a decade ago. Caroline Davies of The Observer, says the rapid rise over the past 10 years in the number of young women joining the profession, many of whom prefer the more family-friendly hours of city practices, is also seen as a contributing factor.

Up to 80 per cent of the intake at Britain's veterinary schools is now women, often drawn to the profession by its caring image as well as TV docu-soaps and dramas such as Animal Hospital and Vets' School. It is sometimes referred to as the 'Trude Mostue' effect, named after the Norwegian star of the former hit show Vets in Practice. Many women vets are put off country work by the unsociable night and weekend rotas to tend farm animals.