Hayley Walters joins the R(D)SVS Team

We are delighted that Hayley Walters joined the R(D)SVS on 14 May 2012, as our Anaesthesia and Welfare Veterinary Nurse and will split her time between working here at Easter Bush and supporting JMICAWE work.
Hayley will be using her veterinary nurse skills and overseas experience (acquired whilst working with Animals Asia), to provide veterinary nursing support for Heather Bacon in our outreach projects in Asia. She will also work with Eddie Clutton and the anaesthesia team at Easter Bush as well as providing support for animal welfare education to veterinary undergraduates.
One of Hayley's objectives is to work with the JMICAWE team to educate and change people's deep-set, often historical attitudes to animal welfare with the aim to eradicate all animal suffering throughout the world. Sadly, Hayley saw first hand the misery man can inflict on animals during her three and a half-year spell at the moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, China. Asiatic black bears or Moon bears - named after the cream-coloured crescent moon patch on their chest - are kept in cages the same size as their own bodies and have their bile extraced daily to use in traditional Chinese medicine. Animals Asia rescues these bears and rehabilitates them into semi natural enclosures, never to be abused or tortured again.
She knows, too, that dog and cat meat regularly appears on restaurant menus in Asia, that performing animals in Chinese zoos, circuses and safari parks are often abused and that local vets - while keen to advance their knowledge - struggle with outdated teaching methods and treatments. She hopes that her work will help to drive up veterinary standards through strong links between the Dick Vet school and National and International Universities. Hayley believes that as standards of care for animals improve, tighter laws and legislation should follow, both here in the UK and throughout Asia and the rest of the world.
Hayley said "I feel very privileged to be a part of The University of Edinburgh veterinary team and look forward to the challenges and projects ahead. Animal welfare is one of my hugest passions and I am very happy to be involved in something that will change and improve the lives of animals here and overseas."