We are counting down the days until wildlife vet Dr Amir Sadaula arrives in the UK!

If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know that with your help we were able to keep Amir in post during the COVID pandemic in 2020, when the unavoidable loss in tourist revenues threatened his work as chief vet at Nepal’s first wildlife hospital, which at the time had just opened in Chitwan Province.

We are delighted that we are now able to get Amir over to the UK in two weeks time for some invaluable CPD training, which he will be able to take back and share with colleagues in Nepal, building vital in-country wildlife health capacity.

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The wildlife hospital in Chitwan has been kitted out with some exiting equipment, but not all of it is in standard use in Nepal, so the vets don’t necessarily have the experience that would let them realise its full potential. For example, digital X-rays and gas anaesthesia don’t currently feature in most veterinary practices.

Although most of WVI’s training takes place in situ, sometimes it’s useful to develop more advanced clinical skills in a setting where the caseload is more predictable than in a wildlife setting. While he’s in the UK, Amir will get hands on experience in low-risk settings (no wild tigers!) with high caseloads. He will begin by honing his skills on domestic animals, working alongside vet Jessica Bodgener, before shadowing zoo vet Nic Masters. His time with Nic will be a chance to transfer new skills to some more familiar wildlife patients, including big cats.

Amir’s programme is being mastermind by Jess, who herself is very familiar with the facilities on the ground in Chitwan, having been back to Nepal last year to set up lab facilities to test for canine distemper virus.

Jess plans to return to Nepal next year to continue her work on conflict leopards, working alongside Amir and his team. We’re confident that having a mutual understanding of the constraints and challenges of each other’s normal working environment will strengthen their professional partnership even further and look forward to seeing how the wildlife hospital will develop in the months and years to come.

Thank you to the Metamorphosis Foundation who have kindly sponsored Amir's trip to the UK.

#TrainingVets #TacklingDisease #SavingSpecies

#OneWorld #OneHealth #OneFuture

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