Free wildlife webinar series to launch for veterinary community members

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VetCT, a global teleradiology, teleconsulting and education company, is hosting a series of wildlife webinars with its charity partner, Wildlife Vets International (WVI), in honor of the 1-year anniversary of their partnership and completion of a “round the world” challenge. The collaboration was launched to increase awareness and donations to spotlight the WVI’s charity veterinary work supporting the conservation of endangered species worldwide.

According to a company release,¹ the VetCT global team of veterinary specialists and support staff recently completed a 21,954-mile challenge within the year to run, cycle, swim, row, or in other ways exercise their way to virtually visit all 15 conservation project locations supported by the charity. VetCT has raised approximately $9,000 for the charity through this and additional initiatives, such as replacing giveaways at conferences for donations.

The wildlife webinars will feature speakers from WVI projects, emphasizing the importance of species conservation and the veterinary work involved, followed by a live Q&A session¹:

• June 29th 8:00-8:45am CT: “Does vaccinating domestic animals have a part to play in conserving wildlife?” With Jane Hopper, Aspinall Foundation and WVI veterinary advisor
• July 27th 8:00-8:45am CT: “Preventing Pandemics: African Swine Fever and its cascading impacts in Asia.” With Matt Linkie, WCS Indonesia
• August 24th 8:00-8:45am CT: “One Health: an integrated approach to wildlife and human health.” With Nic Masters, Toronto Zoo and WVI veterinary advisor
• September 28th 8:00-8:45am CT: “Testing Tigers; The Challenges of Setting up a National Surveillance Programme.” With Jess Bodgener, WVI veterinary partner

Other sessions planned, including the plight of Echo parakeets in Mauritius, will be announced on the VetCT webpage, social media, and e-newsletter.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight some of the fantastic projects supporting endangered species, precious ecosystems and One Health impacts among the wider veterinary community, while raising important funds to enable us to provide input and support to these and future conservation projects,” expressed Olivia Water, executive director of WVI, in the release.¹

She added, “VetCT is a fantastic charity partner, supporting WVI through fundraising and helping to spread the word about the work we do, while providing our teams with free access to their specialist teleradiology and teleconsulting services. We are thrilled to continue this partnership.”

VetCT zoo, exotics, and wildlife specialist, Copper Aitken-Palmer, DVM, PhD, DACZM, shared,¹ “It’s truly wonderful to have the opportunity to spotlight this global veterinary team that is passionate about animal welfare and conservation. I am excited that everyone can join us for these webinars to learn about the incredible projects and the people working so hard behind the scenes for these special species, their communities and fragile ecosystems.”

All veterinary community members are welcome to attend these free webinars and can register here: https://bit.ly/VetCT_wildlife_webinars. Recordings will also be available to watch back after they are live. Voluntary donations to the charity are welcomed.

Reference

Wildlife webinars celebrate charity partnership. News release. VetCT. June 21, 2023. Accessed June 22, 2023.