Six veterinary hopefuls will get to grips with life as a vet

Popular CBBC series "Junior Vets" is to return for a second time, to give six aspiring vets the opportunity to get hands on with real life veterinary cases.
 
With the help of vets and animal experts at Edinburgh University’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, six children from across the UK will learn how to treat sick and injured animals, and will assist with a variety of real life cases.
 
Competition for the six places was fierce, with over 1,000 young people applying to take part in the series.
 
The successful candidates will be taught the basics in skills such as suturing wounds and diagnosing illnesses from x-rays and other scans.
 
A range of challenges will face the participants, from helping vets with a caesarean on a pregnant cow, helping to fit a potential future champion foal with a microchip and assisting with the diagnosis of an injured lion.
 
They will also oversee health checks on a range of animals from household cats and dogs to penguins at a zoo and even a shark at Deep Sea World in Fife.
 
The series will be filmed over 10 episodes, aired at 7.45am, in which the children will be paired up to carry out the daily veterinary tasks. Their performance will be judged by the show’s host, The One Show presenter Alex Riley, as they battle it out for the title of Head Junior Vet at the end of the series.
 
Head of the university’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Professor David Argyle, said: “We are delighted to have welcomed Junior Vets back for a second series, which showcases the range of exciting experiences that life as a vet can bring. Being a vet is immensely rewarding and we hope the show will inspire young people from all backgrounds to consider a career in animal medicine.”