TV vet Bruce Syme convicted of drug possession
He’s the face of the “raw food revolution” for pets. But a Castlemaine vet was swiping drugs meant to treat animals as he fed his own addiction, with staff forced to cover up missing drugs and wrong prescriptions.
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A popular TV vet who built a business spruiking “all natural remedies” and pet food has been ordered to pay $50,000 after he was convicted of abusing highly addictive medications at his clinic.
Dr Bruce Syme, 53, appeared in the Castlemaine Magistrates’ court on Friday after pleading guilty to 11 charges including possessing fentanyl, pethidine and methadone and keeping false records over a period than spanned almost two years.
Syme was also charged with deceiving pharmacists to gain access to pethidine injections, claiming they were for a sick horse he was treating.
Syme admitted to the offending after more than 250 charges were withdrawn.
The animal acupuncturist, who appeared on tv shows including Totally Wild and various breakfast programs, outlined on his website his “frustration” at the inability to cure animals from various ailments and diseases “without relying on constant medication”.
But court documents reveal the face of the “raw food revolution” was swiping medications - often from locked drug safes at his Castlemaine clinic - to feed his own addiction.
Concerned staff members wrote to Syme in August 2017, telling him his “stoned” appearance hadn’t gone unnoticed.
Over a year, veterinary staff reported witnessing:
BOTCHED surgeries performed by Syme, with an increasing number of complications and medication mix-ups
ERRATIC behaviour including falling off chairs, eyes rolling back and sweating uncontrollably
STAFF forced to cover up missing and hidden drugs and fix wrong prescriptions
AND many said they worried he would cause permanent injury, pain or death to an animal or himself.
One staff member wrote: “When I see Bruce looking ‘out of it’ - it scares me.”
An investigation by the Department of Health and Human services was launched in August 2017 and discovered more than 100 of instances where medication had gone missing or was misused, records were not kept or false prescriptions were used to obtain drugs.
Last year the Herald Sun revealed Syme was charged and temporarily stripped of his licence to treat animals and ordered to undergo weekly urine tests by the Veterinary Registration board.
It is understood these restrictions have since been lifted and he has returned to work part-time.
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The court heard Syme may still face further disciplinary action from the Vet board, but outside court he told the Herald Sun he didn’t expect to be penalised.
“It’s all is over now,” he said.
“I’ve been back at work for a year,” he said.
In sentencing, the magistrate said she had taken into account the offending occurred during a period of high-level stress and insomnia after taking on “more than (he) could handle”.
The court heard Syme had no prior history, had made considerable contributions to the local community and had begun the process of drug rehabilitation and treatment.
Staff from his vet clinic packed the courtroom in support of their fallen employer.
The magistrate ruled that despite the abundance of positive material presented in his defence, the seriousness of the matters cannot be addressed with a non-conviction.
Syme was convicted and fined $22,000 and ordered to pay legal costs of more than $28,000.