Envirovet Summer Institute: Integrating Veterinary Medicine into Ecosystem Health Practice

Since 1991, Envirovet Summer Institutes have provided an intensive educational program in wildlife and ecosystem health to approximately 225 animal health professionals. Envirovet provides knowledge, skills, and multiple mentors to catalyze ecosystem health-oriented careers for young veterinarians. It is a total immersion experience, with the students engaged in 60–70 hours a week of instruction, 6–7 days a week, for 6 weeks. The course is comprised of lecture, laboratory, and field experiences organized into three sessions: 1) terrestrial wildlife and ecosystem health; 2) aquatic wildlife and ecosystem health; and 3) an ecosystem health approach to international development. Sessions 1 and 2 take place in Florida and Georgia; Session 3 takes place in a developing country (e.g., Kenya, Brazil, South Africa). Ultimately, the goal of Envirovet is to increase the numbers and effectiveness of veterinarians in productive ecosystem health research and application teams around the world.     

Postgraduate Veterinary Training in Conservation Medicine: An Interdisciplinary Program at Murdoch University, Australia

Although many veterinarians in Australia have been interested in wildlife conservation, the concept of active and worthwhile involvement in biodiversity conservation has often seemed difficult to achieve. There are many boundaries which may hinder the ability of veterinarians to contribute effectively to wildlife conservation initiatives. This article discusses postgraduate veterinary educational initiatives at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, which aim to train veterinarians to effectively participate in biodiversity conservation programs. The Master of Veterinary Studies (Conservation Medicine) and the Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Conservation Medicine have a flexible program structure and can be undertaken entirely by distance education. Their establishment required the removal of disciplinary, institutional, cultural, experiential, and professional development boundaries, which have traditionally impeded veterinary involvement in wildlife conservation projects. The programs have proven to be very successful and have attracted students across Australia and internationally. The strong commitment of Murdoch University to interdisciplinary study and distance education, the goodwill of staff from other divisions within the university, and enthusiastic support from collaborating institutions were critical for the development and establishment of the programs.     

Behavioural Studies in the Veterinary Curriculum

Down syndrome is often used in high school and college biology classes as an example of human cytogenetic anomaly. In this paper we discuss the conventional interpretation of the aetiology of Down syndrome and summarize recent data which do not support the conventional interpretation. Twenty-seven college level texts were reviewed for the way in which they present clinical, cytogenetic, and statistical findings on Down syndrome.     

Bringing the real world into the biology curriculum

This study followed a small but diverse group of biology teachers through the first two years of the pilot for a new Advanced Level Biology course - Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology. SNAB aims to modernise A-level Biology using real world contexts and examples as the starting point, promoting conceptual understanding rather than factual recall, encouraging active learning and developing a capacity for critical thinking and reflection. If the teachers were to implement this new curriculum as intended they would have to change some of their usual practices. The challenges which they encountered and the ways in which they responded were identified through a series of semi-structured interviews with each teacher, supported by lesson observations and interviews with students and technicians. A major constraint on changing practice was uncertainty about how to manage new approaches effectively.     

Bringing Compassion to the Ethical Dilemma in Killing Kangaroos for Conservation

Ethical debate on the killing of kangaroos has polarised conservation and animal welfare science, yet at the heart of these scientific disciplines is the unifying aim of reducing harm to non-human animals. This aim provides the foundation for common ground, culminating in the development of compassionate conservation principles that seek to provide mechanisms for achieving both conservation and welfare goals. However, environmental decision-making is not devoid of human interests, and conservation strategies are commonly employed that suit entrenched positions and commercial gain, rather than valuing the needs of the non-human animals in need of protection. The case study on the wild kangaroo harvest presents just such a dilemma, whereby a conservation strategy is put forward that can only be rationalised by ignoring difficulties in the potential for realising conservation benefits and the considerable welfare cost to kangaroos. Rather than an open debate on the ethics of killing game over livestock, in this response I argue that efforts to bring transparency and objectivity to the public debate have to date been obfuscated by those seeking to maintain entrenched interests. Only by putting aside these interests will debate about the exploitation of wildlife result in humane, compassionate, and substantive conservation benefits.