Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies to launch new course
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh is developing a new unique course to help vets protect endangered species. The launch coincides with the appointment of Anna Meredith as Professor of Zoological and Conservation Medicine at the University.
The course is being launched to help protect the growing number of endangered species and to help vets tackle this global challenge. The course is aimed at international vets, enabling them to study flexibly, part-time through online learning, and achieve a Certificate, Diploma or Masters Degree over one, two or three years.
The first intake of students, which starts in September, includes vets from Cyprus, France, India, North America, Rwanda, Turkey and the UK.
Professor Meredith, who joined the School in 1992 and was involved in setting up its Exotic Animal and Wildlife Service, is heading up a MVetSci in Conservation Medicine.
Professor Meredith said: "Conservation medicine needs biologists, ecologists, public health specialists and vets to work together, but while a lot of vets are keen to become involved there is limited training in this area. This is why we wanted to run such a course that could be accessed by vets from all over the world.
"Animal health and human health are inextricably linked, and human behaviour also has a major impact on many different species. Vets have an important role to play in wildlife conservation, which needs not only a holistic but also an interdisciplinary approach with regards to looking at ecological health and how ecosystems interact."
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
