WSAVA Urges Veterinary Professionals To Volunteer For Outreach Opportunities In Asia

Following the success of its first Global Outreach Initiative in 2014, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has unveiled a program of unique volunteering opportunities in Asia around WSAVA World Congress 2015, set for Bangkok, Thailand, from 15-8 May. They include working in a Thai Elephant Conservation Centre and supporting communities in Tacloban City in the Philippines. WSAVA Global Outreach aims to share the knowledge and experience of its veterinarian members around the world and to provide an avenue for them to contribute to social development globally. This year's volunteer schemes include:

• Four projects developed by the WSAVA with the Veterinary Practitioners' Association of Thailand (VPAT). They are:
  • Box Turtles in Temples: This involves caring for the many turtles which are released in temples in Bangkok by Bhuddists
  • Elephant camp: This involves helping to care for elephants in the Thai Elephant Conversation Centre in Lampang Province
  • Vets Guard Temple Dogs: This involves providing care, including neutering, vaccination and general health care to the large populations of stray dogs and cats which live in Thailand's temples
  • Winged Vets: This involves helping to neuter stray dogs and cats on Samed Island, one of Thailand's most popular tourist attractions.
• A project from the WSAVA's Animal Wellness and Welfare Committee (AWWC) to support communities around Tacloban City in the Philippines, many of which are still recovering from Hurricane Haiyan. Volunteers will assist at neutering clinics; run outpatient clinics and participate in the on-going campaign to raise awareness of responsible pet ownership, rabies eradication and animal welfare and disaster.

In addition to volunteering initiatives, the WSAVA is also running WSAVA CE Faculty Outreach in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. This project brings WSAVA speakers to countries in the region surrounding the country in which World Congress takes place whose veterinarians may not be able to attend. Its world-class speakers will offer CE in their countries help to raise standards of veterinary care and contribute to the development of the global veterinary community which the WSAVA is striving to create. WSAVA President Colin Burrows said: "We had a fantastic response to our 2014 Global Outreach in South Africa. Our volunteers provided much needed assistance to the not-for-profit organizations we were supporting. Many of them told us that it had been a life-changing experience for them too. "Global Outreach is a key tool in helping us achieve our goal to create a global veterinary community in which we all work together to build a better future for people and animals everywhere. The opportunities on offer this year really are unique and places will fill quickly so we encourage veterinary professionals who are interested to sign up without delay!" Further details on how to apply for the volunteer programs can be found at www.wsava.org and www.wsava2015.com. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) is an umbrella organization representing 145,000 veterinarians globally through 91 member associations.

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