Visiting veterinary imaging expert to Vietnam

Following up on the successful trip made by Heather Bacon and Jess Davies in March 2019, Dr. Nic Hayward, a European veterinary specialist in diagnostic imaging travelled to Vietnam in December 2019 to deliver specialised training in ultrasonography. As part of her trip, Nic visited the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) rescue Centre in Cuc Phuong National park, the Four Paws bear rescue centre in Ninh Binh, and the Animals Asia bear sanctuary in Tam Dao National park.

During her trip, Nic engaged with a variety of different activities, including the delivery of welfare assessment training by JMICAWE partner Wild Welfare (www.wildwelfare.org) at the SVW rescue centre which cares for wild animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, specifically pangolins; critically endangered mammals who are trafficked for traditional medicine. In March of last year, Heather and Jess brought an ultrasound machine to the SVW team and gave basic instruction on ultrasound imaging including pregnancy diagnosis, but this was further developed during Nic’s trip, which included scanning several pangolins, leopard cat, tiger cubs, and a Douc langur.

The Animals Asia and Four paws rescue centres rescue and rehabilitate bears used in the illegal bear bile trade. Through her visits, Nic was able to advise on specific aspects of ultrasonography including obtaining images of tricky parts of the anatomy such as adrenal glands, and the best approaches to cardiac scanning.

The use of non-invasive imaging techniques such as ultrasonography allows rapid and accurate detection of a range of veterinary problems, and so the wide range of training that Nic was able to deliver across a variety of species rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, will help to improve the diagnosis and treatment of problems in these rescued animals. JMICAWE was delighted to be able to support Nic’s work and to continue collaboration with our charity partners who are providing much-needed rehabilitation, sanctuary, and in some cases even reintroduction to the wild, of illegally trafficked wild animals.

Delivering workshops and visiting bears - China 2019

Heather and Jess have just returned from a successful trip to China where they collaborated with our long-term partners Animals Asia to deliver a 1 day animal behaviour and welfare seminar to around 60 participants and 2 days of veterinary skills training to veterinary surgeons from across Nanning. The workshop feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and the JMICAWE team look forward to building on this initial workshop with further activities and training events planned over the next three years.

We were also delighted to visit the Animals Asia rescue centres in Chengdu and Nanning – home to over 100 bears rescued from the trade in bear bile. As the previous veterinary director for Animals Asia, it was a great opportunity for heather to reconnect with some old furry friends and also to see the amazing work of Animals Asia continuing on. We were especially pleased to meet Jeanne, a bear rescued from a Nanning bear farm and named in memory of Jeanne Marchig, the benefactor of our own animal welfare centre here at the R(D)SVS.