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Trustees Annual Report 2013 published

Achievements and Performance

WVI submitted Annual Accounts and Trustees Annual Reports for 2013 to the Charity Commission and Companies House, as part of their obligations for being a charity.Below are the charitable achievements for 2013. For the full report see the button at the bottom and the Charity Commission website.

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At least 50% of our work is training. WVI strongly believes that training the right in-country people is key to successful conservation. WVI always works with an in-country partner(s) which are chosen carefully.

1)      The world’s largest avian A&E, January 2013 (£8,085)

WVI sent avian surgeon Johanna Storm to Ahmedabad to assist the Jivdaya Charitable Trust in dealing with the 100s of non pigeon birds that are injured during the International Kite Festival. Kites are flown with cutting strings with the aim to be the last kite flying. This means that not only are there fields of kites being flown during the migration season but that hundreds of broken kites and sections of kite strings are blown around the city, often ending up in roosting areas (trees, bushes, pylons, ponds etc).

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The most common injuries are to the frontal wing, often partially or wholly severing the wing (see picture). Birds arrive in a dehydrated state with putrefying wounds. Johanna initiated protocols and training that increased the survival rate to 97% from 65%.

As well as on the job training in surgical methods and provision of equipment, Johanna addressed post operative care. Suitable diets and the ability to forcefeed birds, which is necessary when wild birds are presented with non-moving diet, were found to be lacking.

Sensitive discussions around the provision of meat to carnivorous bird species had to occur as the Jains do not believe in feeding one animal to another. It is an area that WVI will address further when returning in 2014.

Pre and post operative care is important to address is the majority of these birds are released back into the wild and it is important that they are released as fit as possible, to ensure they have the best chance possible to survive in the wild.

2)      Veterinary Support for Sumatran Tigers, March 2013 (£10,376)

WVI’s big cat vet Dr John Lewis was invited by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to provide expertise and training for field staff of the Dangku Tiger Conservation Partnership in their first trapping and radiocollaring attempt in the Dangku Reserve, Sumatra.

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This provided an opportunity to investigate which infectious diseases may be significant and facilitate disease surveillance activities for wild Sumatran tiger populations across the island.

Sadly the trapping was cut short as the Conservation and Forest Department staff (BKSDA) had to respond to an emerging situation with illegal settlers.

This did provide the time for Dr Lewis to have discussions with organisations involved in tiger conservation in Indonesia. With the exception of the Leuser ecosystem and Kerinci Seblat National Park, most conservation areas occupied by tigers are small, inadequately protected and surrounded by a mixed use landscape (palm oil, rubber, oil and gas concessions). They are too small to support a viable tiger population so tigers will have to move between these islands to make a viable metapopulation.

These corridors pose a disease risk to tigers where they come close to settlements with dogs, which can be a source of potentially fatal viral infections for tigers. Discussions were had on how to survey for this risk as well as identifying appropriate techniques for future attempts to catch non-conflict tigers.

During further informal discussions it became apparent that a number of tigers have been observed behaving strangely – apparently healthy ones losing their fear of people. This is worryingly consistent with infection with Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), making them more vulnerable to poachers.

No relevant testing has been done in Sumatra but there are strong parallels with the recent (since 2000) behaviour of the tigers in the Russian Far East where infection with CDV has been established in similar cases.

3)      Veterinary Support for Endangered Asian primates, Vietnam, June 2013 (£4,950)

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Following on from a visit in June 2012, this was WVI vet Dr John Lewis’ second trip to the Endangered Asian Species Trust (EAST) at Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre in Cat Tien National Park, South Vietnam.

Endangered primates are rescued from the trade and rehabilitated at the primate centre before release into the national park. As part of the release protocols, ten golden-cheeked gibbons were anaesthetised for clinic health examinations and minor procedures including testing for tuberculosis and being fitted with GPS radiocollars prior to release.

Three gibbons were x-rayed to investigate fractures, shotgun pellet wounds and a spinal deformity. Four females not ready for release were fitted with temporary contraceptive implants under the skin.

In addition to conducting three post mortem examinations, Dr Lewis was able to provide some advice and clinical services to a bear rescue centre at Cat Tien National Park headquarters. Such assistance is in short supply and helps to cement the relationship between EAST and the national park.

4)      Veterinary Support for Sumatran Tigers, September 2013 (£6,400)

Following on from discussions in March, a disease surveillance workshop was planned for September 2013. It was hosted by Taman Safari Indonesia and vets representing all the Sumatran provinces attended. As intended, it was the initiative of the Indonesian wildlife vets with support from their professional body, the Indonesian Veterinary Medical Association with guidance and technical support from WVI and other outside organisations where suitable. It was felt that this would form a far more sustainable programme.

The result of the meeting was the formation of the Sumatran Tiger Health Forum, the appointment of Dr Retno from Taman Safari Indonesia as a part time coordinator, the STHF as a coordinating body for information on tiger health, a storage body for samples, and a framework for a disease surveillance programme including practical details to assist collaborators in all aspects.

The establishment of the STHF and the initiation of a disease surveillance plan for tigers covering the whole of Sumatra is one of the most exciting veterinary developments in tiger conservation in recent years. It is the first programme of its type in any tiger range state, and may lead the way to evidence-based disease prevention or mitigation strategies for wild tigers.

5)      Reintroduction of Amur leopards, Russian Far East, 2013 (£1,279)

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Due to being unable to go to the field in Russia 2013, John Lewis has had the time and funds to progress more desk based objectives, most of which he has done free of charge.

2013 saw further development of the Amur Leopard Health Database which contains data from wild and captive data. This data will be used to analyse mortality patterns within the EEP which will inform the EEP on which leopards should be selected for reintroduction from a health point of view.

As reintroduction of the Critically Endangered Amur Leopard looks more than likely now, it is important that this analysis is done and made available to the right people. The compilation of a comprehensive Disease Risk Analysis was initiated in 2013. It be published in English and Russian and made available to all those involved in the reintroduction.

6)      Fundraising achievements

2013 was a year of fundraising achievements. WVI increased income across the strands of donations (cash and in kind), grants and sponsorship and included both restricted ‘project’ funding as well as unrestricted funding.

This is in part due to our overall increase in profile, better links within the veterinary industry and increase of our Partners in Conservation programme by one member. Veterinary corporates pledge to donate £3,000 to WVI over a three year period. St Francis Group joined in 2013.

WVI took part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge for the first time, raising £4,000 for our project to increase wildlife medicine capacity in the Seychelles.

For the first time since 2006 WVI undertook to have a stand at BSAVA 2014, and planning was well underway at the end of 2013. Donate to help

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WVI adventuring out of the office

WVI’s Development Manager, Olivia Walter, is finally allowed out of the office next October. But only if she joins a team walking across Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra from East to West, collecting tiger snares on the way ……

Her fundraising page is here https://www.justgiving.com/OliviaWalter/

Olivia aims to raise £5,000 through nice people donating and various tiger events around Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, UK.

Events such as Tea for Tigers, tiger quizz around Hebden Bridge, an evening ‘do’, a musical evening, a cycling challenge and selling lots of Tiger Buns are planned.

Olivia after Yorkshire 3 Peaks

The first to be confirmed is completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks in under 12 hours (24.5 miles, three mountains) for the weekend of the 11/12 July.

We will approach local (and not so local) companies to see if they would nicely match the funds raised.

Please follow Olivia’s story on Facebook, Google +, LinkedIN and Twitter

Please email info@wildlifevetsinternational.org if you would like to join in the tiger events.

50% of the funds will go to WVI’s tiger projects and 50% will go to the anti poaching patrols who will take them through the forest (chanelled through 21st Century Tiger).

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