Kāpiti Coast veterinarian Roger Marchant has been recognised for more than 50 years of service to animals, people and the veterinary profession.
Roger received Honorary Life Membership at the recent New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) Awards, one of the Association’s highest honours.
NZVA President Dr Robert Mills MNZM says Roger’s career reflects the depth, variety and public value of veterinary work in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Roger’s contributions to disease eradication, biosecurity, food safety and the development of a bobby calf assurance programme have had a lasting impact,” Dr Mills says. “While Roger’s chosen profession focused on the health and welfare of animals, anyone
who knows him will tell you he is also a people person — something that has served communities well throughout his long and extraordinarily varied career.”
After graduating from Massey University in 1973, Roger began in club practice in Edgecumbe before working as a locum veterinarian in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. He later ran his own practice in the Bay of Plenty, returned to club
practice in Stratford, and went on to serve in government and the animal health industry.
His career included five years with the Animal Health Division of the former Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, technical adviser roles with animal health companies, and later work as a Veterinary Adviser to the NZVA.
Roger has also given decades of service to the profession through governance, education and branch leadership. He was NZVA President in 1987–88, served on national veterinary regulatory bodies, supported veterinary continuing education, and
contributed for many years to the NZVA Sheep and Beef Cattle branch. His expertise in animal production and the animal health industry also led to work on leptospirosis control, the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee, and the successful World Sheep Veterinary Congress hosted in 2013.
Since retiring, Roger has remained involved through the NZVA Retired Veterinarians Network and helped mark the Association’s centenary as chair of the Publications Committee behind Veterinarians in Aotearoa, published in 2023.
Roger says his long involvement with the NZVA has been a way to give back to an association that provided him with collegiality, mentoring, advocacy, professional development and support throughout his career.
