Couple came back to care for Uist’ s animals and enjoy the good life

Mainland universities were where Eva Troughton and Peter Buckland learned to care for animals. Now, they’ve brought their skills back to their island home.

There’s no doubt that depopulation is one of the biggest challenges the Western Isles are facing today.

But people leaving isn’t the whole story.

Eva and Peter are two of the many people who grew up in the Outer Hebrides but left to pursue higher education on the mainland.

The couple had always wanted to return one day. But an opportunity to take over Southern Isles Veterinary Practice came sooner than expected.

“I think you’ve just got to go for these things,” says Eva.

Now – with Peter as a vet and Eva in administration – they’re responsible for caring for Uist and Barra’s animals, everything from pets and livestock to seabirds and hedgehogs.

But moving back meant facing one of the biggest issues in the Hebrides: housing.

Luckily, growing up on the islands meant they had two families to stay with. But it was far from ideal.

“We were split between our parents’ houses at first,” says Eva. “We were living out of suitcases.” She acknowledges they were “very lucky” to eventually find a place to rent.

“That was maybe four years ago, I don’t think (the housing crisis) was quite as bad as it is now.”

Working at a vet practice in the Hebrides is very different than on the mainland, Eva says – in all the best ways.

“Here, you’re way more connected to people. On the mainland they have so many customers you didn’t get to know them unless they were really regular clients.”

For Peter, it’s the islands’ geography that makes the biggest difference.

In Uist, Southern Isles Veterinary Practice is “all people have”.

“We get to do things that, on the mainland, you’d say ‘oh, that needs to be referred’.”

Taking on these challenges is, he says, “stressful, but also rewarding”.

Right now, the practice is busier than ever.

The number of people getting puppies and kittens “just went bang” during Covid, says Eva.

Currently, the practice has only two vets covering all of Uist and Barra. As demand grows, it’s becoming more and more obvious they need another pair of hands.

But finding another vet is proving to be a challenge.

The lack of vets is a problem the veterinary industry as a whole is facing, Eva says. “There’s a high dropout rate.”

This is due, she says, to a combination of factors, such as a difficulty with “work-life balance” and “abuse” from some clients.

“Trying to get vets who are suited to living here is tricky,” she added, noting that, for many, it means a big distance between friends and family on the mainland.

One thing that would make a difference, she says, is accommodation. And so, it comes round again to the housing crisis.

“We’ve been trying for a couple of years to buy a place through the practice,” says Eva. She would love to be able to offer a flat or house to a permanent or locum vet.

Despite making several offers on properties “well over the asking price”, they’ve been turned down every time.

She described the process as “really gutting and deflating”.

But, even as they search for more help, the team is looking for ways to keep growing.

“We’re slowly but surely trying to expand and improve the practice,” she says.

The statistics of depopulation don’t lie. But Eva says she knows more and more people who are choosing to come back for good.

Of her five close school friends, four are now back in Uist and one is about to move to Lewis.

“And they’ve all got careers and families,” she says. “They’re very much part of the community.”

HOME: Eva, Peter, and dog Ubba returned to the isles because the quality of life and challenges of work are so good.