Wildlife Vets International is the focus for day five of my Big Give Christmas Challenge 2024 tips.
It’s a sad truth that fundraising takes up about half of most charities’ income and resources, so anything they can do to make that easier means that more money goes to the causes they support. Matched funding like the Big Give makes a huge difference.
Wildlife Vets International
Wildlife conservation projects need vets to help sick and injured animals, but vets are in short supply everywhere. Vets and veterinary nurses take a long time and a lot of money to train, which is where charities like Wildlife Vets International help out.
They’re British vets who give their time to train and mentor vets and activists in developing countries, and put knowledge online to help them out. They also provide emergency animal care on the front line in places where there aren’t enough skilled vets.
In the UK, the WVI recruits vets in the UK to expand their network and the skills they can offer to vets in conservation work. Trained conservation vets need to keep up their skills with the latest techniques, while working in the field can give British vets new insights into animal care.
Assistance from the WVI goes beyond surgery and medication. Conservation activists provide crucial intelligence to global public healthcare through monitoring animal diseases. Illnesses like rabies and distemper can spread between wild and domestic animals with a huge impact on local communities. High profile diseases like bird flu and monkeypox can be spotted in animals, giving early warnings before they break out into humans.
The WVI teaches activists to identify diseases, handle sick animals and take samples safely. They also advise on setting up facilities to rapidly test samples in the field instead of sending them to laboratories overseas.
Funding Wildlife Vets International will improve the work of conservation projects around the world. You’ll help to save endangered species that range from Amur tigers in Siberia to turtles in the Seychelles.