Worldwide Veterinary Service

Worldwide Veterinary Service founded by Luke Gamble has helped hundreds of animals across the world, many of whom were neglected, abused or thrown out to survive on the streets.

The charity based in the 25ft by 18ft shed attached to Pilgrims Veterinary Practice in Cranborne, sends out teams of vets, veterinary nurses and volunteers to work with animal charities abroad.

Luke decided to set up the charity to help these charities which often find it difficult or even impossible to get access to qualified vets and veterinary nurses to treat their animals.

The idea was to create “a pool of veterinary expertise” that charities can access when they need it, explained Luke.

The charity, which works with all species, has around 169 charities registered with it worldwide including equine, chimpanzee, dog, cat and gorilla charities.

The teams are made up of vets from all over the world including members from Pilgrims Veterinary Practice and the Bournemouth area.

They travel out to such places as Spain, Greece, Peru and Gambia to assist charities with health and disease control.

Their work includes neutering programmes to help cut down on the numbers of unwanted animals roaming the streets, treating animals for medical conditions and vaccinating against diseases like rabies.

The work of WVS is not just about helping animals but also the people that depend on them for their livelihoods, explained Luke.

He said:“I wanted to help in places where there were no vets and where no vets could go or would go such as remote India, parts of Africa and South America and where people depend on their animals for their livelihood”

“The British Veterinary Association say a billion people in the world depend on animals for either their livelihoods or companionship and that one person dies of rabies every 10 minutes in the world and it’s a small way to really make a difference to animals and people.”

Seventy one teams have been sent out by WVS while 49 countries, 101 charities or charitable organisations benefited, with £164,664 worth of drugs sent out.

WVS recently sent a team to a foreign zoo which has “major problems” with animal welfare to train staff, help with animal husbandry and improve enclosures.

WVS has also set up the world’s first Emergency Animal Response Team that can be sent to the scene of disasters. The team is made up of vets from Black Dragon – Bournemouth’s emergency out-of-hours veterinary cover service.

Major contributors to WVS coffers include the Petplan Charitable Trust which has donated £36,000 to date funding training trips for new graduates from UK veterinary schools to work in European animal shelters and the Marchig Trust.

Other funds come from WVS members who pay £30 a year or £2.75 per month. Most members are members of the veterinary profession but others are simply animal loveres who wish to help, said Luke.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the work of Worldwide Veterinary Service should visit www.wvs.org.uk or telephone 01725 551123