India

UCVM faculty members have developed a close working relationship with the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KAVASU). The primary focus of this partnership has been to build capacity in wildlife health management. Several UCVM faculty have participated in visits to deliver workshops and assist with development and delivery of graduate training. In addition, recently KVASU has established the Western Ghats Regional Institute for Wildlife Research and Tribal Welfare" (WGRI-WRTW) to develop and implement a One Health approach to address complex issues emerging at the interface of human, animal, and environmental health.  

Foreign lead: Dr. George Chandy, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, Wyanad.

Other collaborators: Department of Forestry, Kerala; Trivandrum Zoo; Kottur Elephant Rehabilitation Centre.   

Major accomplishments

• Dr. Thundathil’s conservation biology workshops and lectures were focused on state-of-the-art cell biological technologies for gamete preservation and embryo production. These workshops provided participants an opportunity to understand the theoretical and practical aspects of various reproductive technologies.
• Dr. Caulkett’s lectures focused on advances in wildlife capture and handling, these topics included pharmacology, drug delivery techniques, safety concerns, equipment used in capture and supportive care of the anesthetized animal. Hands on workshops included canine anesthesia as a model for wildlife anesthesia and the use of remote delivery equipment (dart rifles) and monitoring technologies during anesthesia. Techniques used in clinical anesthesia research such as arterial catheter placement and blood gas analysis were also demonstrated and taught to graduate students who require these techniques for their research.
• The workshop on social welfare activities involving community leaders, elected members of the government, and public discussed and identified several areas for promoting welfare of economically backward community and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts. KVASU’s MSc program with emphasis on wildlife studies will be revised with an emphasis on these aspects and promoting student engagement with the community. Research projects will be focused on deriving solutions for these problems.

UCVM has established a collaboration with GADVASU, focusing on a program to sterilize street dogs in Ludhiana and on exposing UCVM students to veterinary medicine in a developing country. UCVM and GADVASU have also engaged in an OIE Twinning Veterinary Education program (https://www.oie.int/solidarity/veterinary-education/), which fosters exchanges of teachers and students between a “parent” veterinary establishment and a “partner” institution in a developing country to advance institutional capacity and expertise.

UCVM Leads: Drs. Amy Warren, Kent Hecker, and Nigel Caulkett

Foreign leads: Dr. Jatinder Gill

Funding: OIE Twinning Veterinary Education program, Donor support  

Major accomplishments to date: In 2018, 2019, and 2020, UCVM faculty visited with colleagues at GADVASU to discuss the collaboration between the 2 schools and provide continuing education seminars to GADVASU faculty.  In 2018 and 2019, a group of newly graduated veterinarians visited GADVASU to perform spays and neuters and participate in other clinical activities over a two-week period. These experiences were used to refine the opportunity and expand it into a final year clinical rotation starting in 2021