I recently attended the Bat Conservation Trust's National Bat Care Conference. The conference is for anyone involved with bats and for everyone to share their knowledge and update their skills in bat rehabilitation. I do not have any experience dealing with bats and have only seen bats when I volunteered at my local wildlife hospital. However, I wanted to increase my knowledge in order to help any bats that cross my path. I really enjoyed the conference and although slightly sad, it was good to hear some of the concerns or challenges that bat carers face when it comes to veterinary practices ..read more

In this blog post, I will be interviewing Lauren Valentine about how she became a Sea Turtle Vet Nurse. Me and Lauren (@lv_goes_wild) first started talking via instagram back in 2019, after I posted something during my volunteer trip in South Africa. However, we have only just met in person this year! In no better location than in the Maldives :) Although I only worked with Lauren for a very short period of time, it was amazing to learn from her and see her passion and enthusiasm for what she does. Can you tell me a little about your Veterinary Nursing career so far? Since joining veterinary ..read more

I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone multiple times in the last few years and each time it was worth it. As of next week, I will be leaving my comfort zone completely, as I am going to be starting two new jobs! I am going to be starting a part-time role as an RVN in a charity animal hospital and a part-time role as Project Officer for a new Hedgehog Friendly Project. After attending Vets Stay Go Diversify (VSGD) Live 2.0 last year, I was so inspired and it motivated me to continue on the path of doing what I had dreamed of – working part-time as a vet nurse and part-time in wildlife cons ..read more

Today marks the first day of Spring (my favourite time of the year). Some wildlife rehabs & rescues have already started receiving their first orphan animals and it won't be long till they start getting an influx of patients. Veterinary practices might start to get calls about young animals or even receive some, so it is best to be prepared for the most common situations and have everything ready. If you haven't already, I recommend having a Wildlife Protocol. This will ensure the whole team knows what to do when a wild animal comes into the practice. You can read more about Wildlife Prot ..read more

In 2021, I decided I would take part in my first RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. I wanted to encourage more birds to come into my garden, so I decided to buy some bird feeders. This was not technically my first time feeding the birds. I remember asking my parents for a bird feeder table and some feeders when I was young, but I remember the table being swamped by pigeons and the food going mouldy in the feeders. I must admit feeding the birds during the pandemic/lockdowns gave me much joy and I spotted birds that I had never seen in my garden before (or maybe never noticed) like Goldfinches and Long ..read more

It's World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, so I thought I would do a post on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) as it is one of the biggest global health issues. AMR is a One Health concern, as if a drug becomes ineffective it could have serious implications for the health of both humans and animals. This year there was an Antibiotic Amnesty campaign, which encouraged clients to return any unused or out-of-date antibiotics so they can be disposed of safely. Unfortunately, I found out about this late, so didn't have time to set everything up to get my practice to take part, but I am going to promote ..read more

With new housing measures coming into force this week regarding captive poultry, I wanted to do a blog post on Avian influenza. So, what is Avian influenza (also known as Bird Flu)? Avian influenza (AI) is a viral infection commonly affecting birds but can affect humans and other mammals. Therefore, it is a zoonotic disease. There are two distinct virus pathotypes: HPAI & LPAI. Wild birds, particularly waterfowl (eg ducks and geese) and shorebirds (eg gulls), act as a natural reservoir for LPAI viruses, where the infection is often asymptomatic. It commonly circulates in wild birds in the ..read more

Would you like to help scientists get a better idea of the natural world and potential help increase the protection of certain species? If I told you, you could do this with no experience or special skills, no real-time pressures or commitment. You could do this on a walk around your local park/common or even from the comfort of your home. Well, you can by taking part in Citizen Science projects. There is a range of Citizen Science projects that are free to join and simply involve recording observations of the wildlife around you. There are general apps like iNaturalist or iRecord, where you ..read more

For those who are not on Instagram, here is the completed Cats & Wildlife Series: Part 1: Cat attack data from UK Wildlife Rescues Did you know the estimated mean predation rate is 21 prey/cat/annum? This would mean that in 2020 around 229 million prey animals may have been caught and brought home by cats. This predation rate was from a study by Baker and others (2005). I wanted to know the figures of cat attack victims in UK Wildlife Rescues, so I reached out the several wildlife rescues. Of all cat attack admissions across the wildlife rescues, the most common species were birds, at 82 ..read more

#VNAM2021 #WhatVNsDo #PlanetRVN It's Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month and I want to share some of the amazing nurses that are helping wildlife. This could be working within a wildlife rescue or a veterinary practice. I asked them all what their favourite part of working with wild animals is, their goals/achievements and their nursing tip. As you can see some peoples answers were similar, but remember we are all on our own journey. I want to say a massive thank you to all the nurses that feature in these posts. The veterinary nurse community is just amazing!! I've met (well virtually) so many ..read more