This article is published simultaneously on IIIVE — the International Institute for Improvement in Veterinary Ethics (iiive.org) — established by this publication's editor to provide a dedicated international platform for veterinary ethics accountability. For the full Harry Kelly case archive on IIIVE, go
here.
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Back on April 20 I finally received a "response" from the American Veterinary Medical Association to my March 7 correspondence and my subsequent March 16 email prompting some acknowledgement of the former.
Just another response an organisation issues when it's not issuing a response . . . and has been forced into issuing that non-response.
Dr Samantha Morello, Associate Director of the AVMA's Education and Research Division, opened with this:
"I am writing first to apologize for the delay in responding to your emails of Saturday March 7 and Monday March 16, 2026. The first message was sent outside of business hours, and I was traveling on business from March 8 through March 18, during which time an automatic out-of-office reply was in place. Regrettably, I see now that upon my return, your messages were overlooked among a high volume of correspondence."
Readers will note the striking similarity between this opening and the opening of the
Australasian Veterinary Boards Council's (AVBC) response. Whether this is coincidence or a standard accreditor playbook for complaints they intend to dismiss, I leave to readers to judge.
Dr Morello then wrote:
"We have reviewed your correspondence regarding the care your dog Harry received at the Massey University Companion Animal Hospital."
Getting Clear on Definitions
Just for absolute clarity, Ms Morello: Harry did not receive "care".
He received abuse. For
ICU staff's convenience, he received
catastrophic, repeated overdosing with an unnecessary cocktail of sedatives that Massey's own prior records documented him as having already experienced adverse reactions to — the primary one of which being firmly contraindicated for his kidney status. He was
disconnected from the rehydrating fluids he was admitted for — the prescribed 24-hour rehydration protocol I paid for — in order to be used in cruel student activities and to have videos produced of him for the university's "teaching" profit. After which
his clinical records were falsified (Crimes Act 1961, Sections 258 and 260), data was scrubbed, and key materials central to my investigation — including the IDEXX reports and the Medication Administration Records — have been
withheld for six months, and continue to be withheld, in breach of New Zealand's Official Information Act 1982, as Massey is a publicly-funded institution.
That is what Harry received, Ms Morello. Not "care".
Just so we're clear on that. Just like I'd like to be clear on the definition of "treatment" and "euthanasia".
I will be correcting this terminology in every piece of correspondence from every accreditor, or from any Massey representative, that uses it going forward.
Dr Morello continues . . .
"While students may participate in clinical training within teaching hospitals and affiliated clinical settings, the COE's
(Council of Education) authority and the application of the Standards is limited to evaluating the educational program and does not extend to oversight of patient care or clinical decision-making at the hospital level."
Dr Morello, there is a distinction you are dishonestly refusing to recognise: students
are observing and participating in patient "care" and clinical decision-making at the hospital level. That
IS their "educational program". It is one and the same thing.
You cannot separate the educational program from the hospital environment in which it is delivered. Your very own Standards acknowledge this, which is precisely why, in my detailed response to you — which you have not acknowledged — I cited your Standards 1, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 11 as directly applicable to this matter.
On the question of whether this meets your criteria for a systemic complaint:
" . . . the practice, condition, or situation is of a continuing or pervasive nature, as opposed to an unfair or arbitrary act of an individual or an act isolated in nature."
I would like to draw your attention to just a few examples of reader feedback received through my publication since I began documenting this case — all of which have now been provided directly to New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries, whose Animal Welfare Investigations Unit has formally assigned Senior Investigators to Massey's Companion Animal Hospital.
These have included experiences whereby:
- A pet was diagnosed falsely with renal failure, with the Massey vet pressuring the owner for euthanasia after mismanaging a leg fracture. A second vet disagreed entirely with the Massey vet's "diagnosis". The pet lived three further happy years.
- A reader took her dog to Massey on her vet's recommendation. Her dog came out of the procedure worse than it went in and died three weeks later.
These are far from isolated instances of reader feedback. Just like my pet's case is not an isolated act by Massey staff and students. And just like the reaction (or non-reaction) by Massey management, that I have experienced and they experienced, are not "isolated" instances.
They represent a pattern. A very clear, and very disturbing, systemic pattern. And one that is being taught to students. Which is precisely what your own criteria require you to act upon.
Animal Welfare Unit of NZ Government Launches Investigation Into Animal Cruelty At Massey's Veterinary Teaching Hospital aka 'Companion Animal Hospital'
It's also worth noting, Dr Morello, that the Ministry of Primary Industries — New Zealand's peak government animal welfare authority — has formally assigned a Senior Investigation team from its complex investigations unit to Massey's Companion Animal Hospital.
That investigation is now active.
A 342-page forensic report is in investigators' hands, supplemented by a 13-page independent clinical summary demonstrating that Harry was a completely viable patient at admission, requiring nothing more than the rehydration procedure he was admitted for and never received.
That's a serious government investigation into an institution your organisation accredits.
And you have nil concern over the matter, maintaining your "isolated incident" out.
Finally, Dr Morello:
By the time you read this, you will be aware that the
Veterinary Council of New Zealand (VCNZ) — the agency you chose to defer to — is the subject of a formal complaint accepted by the New Zealand Law Society against its CEO, Iain McLachlan, (a registered lawyer) for
collusion with Massey University and for obstruction of my ability to lodge formal complaints.
"Smoking gun" emails exchanged between McLachlan and Massey's Dean of the Veterinary School, Jon Huxley, characterising my complaint as "wholly unfounded" before any investigation had been conducted (and that was being actively prevented from being conducted by Massey's refusal and continued refusal to disclose the identities of any veterinary staff involved in the "care" and "treatment" of Harry) have been obtained and published.
As you can see from the below exchange:
From: "Jon Huxley" <J.Huxley@massey.ac.nz>
Sent: 1/30/2026 3:16:00 AM
To: "Iain McLachlan" <iain@vetcouncil.org.nz>, "liam@vetcouncil.org.nz" <liam@vetcouncil.org.nz>, "Seton
Butler" <seton@vetcouncil.org.nz>
Subject: Jordan Kelly - Allegations regarding VTH care
Kia ora koutou,
I am writing regarding recent correspondence from Ms Jordan Kelly, in which she has made a number of serious
allegations about the care provided by the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Tāwharau ora – School of Veterinary
Science at Massey University.
The School categorically refutes all of the allegations she has raised. Earlier this afternoon I advised Ms Kelly
directly that, should she wish to pursue her concerns, the appropriate pathway is through the Veterinary Council of
New Zealand, as the statutory body responsible for regulating the veterinary profession. She has now been
formally directed to engage with VCNZ if she wishes to take the matter further.
Given the nature of her communications and the pattern of escalation, the Veterinary Teaching Hospital has
declined to provide any future veterinary services to Ms Kelly. The matter has also been referred to the University’s
legal counsel, to ensure our position is clear and appropriately documented should further action become
necessary.
I appreciate that you will have received her messages, and I am sorry that you have been drawn into what is, at its
heart, a wholly unfounded complaint. Should you wish to discuss the matter, or require any clarification about the
circumstances, please feel free to get in touch with me directly.
Ngā mihi,
Jon
Jon Huxley
Head of School
Tāwharau Ora – School of Veterinary Science
Massey University │ Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North │ 4100 │ New Zealand │
│ │ www.massey.ac.nz/school-vetscience/
Pronouns: He / Him
As you can see, VCNZ Chief Executive Officer Iain McLachlan was prompt in taking up "Jon's" offer for Shields to call "Jon" for the official version:
Subject: Re: Jordan Kelly - Allegations regarding VTH care
Date: Friday, 30 January 2026 at 4:27:31 PM Iain McLachlan
To: Huxley, Jon
CC: Liam Shields, Seton Butler
Thanks Jon. I suspect Liam and his team will be in touch.
Ngā mihi
Iain McLachlan
He | Him
Kaiwhakahaere Matua me Pouroki | CEO & Registrar
Te Kaunihera Rata Kararehe o Aotearoa | Veterinary Council of New Zealand
Level 6, Midland Chambers, 45 Johnston Street, Wellington 6011 | New Zealand
P 04 473 9600 | DDI 04 894 3705 | W www.vetcouncil.org.nz
That's the "integrity" of the "teaching" "hospital" you accredit, and of the agency you smugly defer to, Dr Morello, to allow you to keep your annual income rolling in from Massey for "accrediting" its standards of "student education".
So I ask the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and I also ask the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (UK): How long do y'all think you're going to be able to keep collecting your annual "accreditation" fees from this institution before each of you also becomes collusive, by default?
