Featured

Humpback whale successfully disentangled off the Washington coast

August 2019

A trained team freed an entangled humpback whale near Tatoosh Island at the tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula Thursday night, removing ropes that had hog-tied the whale between its mouth and tail.

The entangled whale was first reported just before noon Thursday, Aug. 8, by Todd’s Extreme Fishing, who stayed with the whale to monitor its location until the Makah Tribe and U.S. Coast Guard arrived to take over the watch. The assistance was essential in keeping track of the whale’s condition and location while a response team mobilized and arrived on the scene.

“They did exactly the right thing by keeping their distance and watching the whale so the team could quickly find it,” said Kristin Wilkinson, regional coordinator of NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Northwest Large Whale Entanglement Response Network.

The team that included members from SR3: Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research; Cascadia Research Collective; the Makah Tribe; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; and World Vets. Response teams must complete extensive training and work under a NOAA Fisheries permit because disentangling large whales can be difficult and dangerous.

20190808Mn-05

 

Untangling the whale was complicated because ropes running between its mouth and tail had left it hogtied at the surface, said Doug Sandilands of SR3, who helped lead the response. It was unclear whether the ropes had been attached to a crab trap or other fishing gear.

The team cut the lines at key points to remove almost all the line except for a small section that remained in the whale’s mouth but will likely fall out on its own.

The whale appeared to be in good condition and was swimming normally after the team removed the ropes.

NOAA Fisheries thanks the Makah Tribe, U.S. Coast Guard, SR3, Cascadia Research Collective, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Mammal Investigations, World Vets, and Todd’s Extreme Fishing for assisting the effort, which was conducted under NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program permit 18786-03.

Anyone spotting an entangled whale should report it to NOAA Fisheries’ 24/7 hotline by calling 877-SOS-WHALE (877-767-9425) or hailing the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16. Please stay with the whale as long as it is safe to do so, but never attempt disentanglement or remove any gear without training and authorization. Please try to get video or photos showing the entangling gear but remember to stay 100 yards from the whale and watch for lines in the water.

Original Press Release from NOAA Fisheries:  click here

A Successful Summer in Ecuador

A Successful Summer in Ecuador

World Vets International Veterinary Medicine (IVM) Program is our official student program. It is a multi – disciplinary training and cultural experience that enhances students education and also gives them a broader understanding of international veterinary medicine.

This summer our IVM Program took place in Ecuador. Hundreds of animals benefited for our free veterinary services, which included sterilization surgeries as well as community outreach field clinics that tended to both small animals and livestock.  See pictures

We’d like to thank our outstanding student and veterinary volunteers, local partners as well as our supporters for making this an amazing summer!

If you missed this opportunity, we still have student spots open on our IVM session scheduled in August. Find out more

World Vets takes part in New Horizons Guyana

World Vets takes part in New Horizons Guyana

World Vets currently has a veterinary team in Guyana providing free veterinary care as part of the New Horizons Training Exercise. World Vets is a proud partner of US Southern Command humanitarian aid operations. These missions have our teams work alongside US Army vets and techs, in addition to animal health care professionals and local veterinarians in host nations. We thank our dedicated volunteers for their service as well as New Horizons for this great opportunity to improve animal health and welfare in Guyana!

 

Investigating Gray Whale Deaths in Washington

Investigating Gray Whale Deaths in Washington

Nineteen Gray whales have washed ashore in Washington over the last several weeks and more than 55 have stranded on the West Coast this year.  World Vets has been involved in the disease investigation and necropsies working with lead scientists from Cascadia Research Collective, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as other members of the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network.  The strandings already seen this year are the most of any year since the year 2000 and its still early in the whale migration season.  Most of the whales have shown signs of nutritional stress and poor body condition, although its still too early to fully understand the exact cause of the high death numbers.  Additional testing and evaluation of collected samples are pending and should provide more insight into these deaths.

Related Media Coverage:

Why are gray whales washing up dead on Pacific Northwest beaches– KUOW News

Cascadia and other Washington stranding network organizations continue to respond to growing number of dead whales along our coast and inside waters-Cascadia Research Collective

Thank you Team Nepal! Hundreds of Street Dogs Sterilized

Thank you Team Nepal! Hundreds of Street Dogs Sterilized

Last month World Vets had two veterinary teams in Nepal to provide free sterilization services for street dogs. We would like to thank our dedicated volunteers, donors as well as local partners. From your efforts, and with your support, hundreds of dogs now have a greater chance at a better life!

You can help us make a difference! World Vets returns to Kathmandu later this year, and we still have a need for volunteers. Find out more

Calling All Cat Lovers & Feline Practitioners

Calling All Cat Lovers & Feline Practitioners

We have an upcoming field service project that is the perfect volunteer opportunity for cat lovers and feline practitioners. We will be operating a free high volume sterilization campaign in Shkodër, Albania from August 1- 8, 2019, and 70% of animal patients are expected to be cats!

Volunteer opportunities are still available for veterinarians, technicians (both licensed and non-licensed), as well as students and for general assistants (individuals with no previous veterinary experience). Find out more!

Booking a direct flight to Albania might be expensive from North America. As such, we suggest prospective volunteers look into booking a round trip flight to a major hub in Europe (i.e. Amsterdam, Bucharest, Rome) and from that location book a separate flight to Albania. We also recommend that volunteers search for flight options on kayak.com, and then book directly through the airline offering the best deal/itinerary.

Make your Veterinary School Application Stand out!

Make your Veterinary School Application Stand out!

Are you currently an undergraduate student with aspirations to apply to vet school one day? We know what will make your application stand out above the rest!

World Vets International Veterinary Medicine (IVM) Program is our official student program where “pre-veterinary” students will not only receive exposure to practicing veterinary medicine in the field but gain valuable clinical skills. You will also help countless animals in the process and receive a great cultural experience!

There are still vacancies for “pre-vet” students as part of our IVM Program scheduled in Ecuador this summer! See all date offerings here

Requesting World Vets Veterinary Assistance

Requesting World Vets Veterinary Assistance

World Vets receives requests for veterinary assistance year round from locations all over the world. While we are not able to help everyone, we welcome inquiries and the potential to establish new partnerships for the benefit of animal health and welfare. One of the main ways we are able to assist animals worldwide is by sending veterinary teams to provide free veterinary services. In this way we operate veterinary field service projects that are either classified as small animal, equine or livestock and animal husbandry. Learn more about requesting veterinary assistance here

If you volunteer with or represent an animal welfare organization and are interested in welcoming a World Vets veterinary team to your location, we ask that you first investigate the following things before requesting assistance;

  • Are foreign veterinarians legally permitted to provide veterinary services in your location as a volunteer? For instance, are there any local laws banning veterinarians from other countries in performing surgery or practicing veterinary medicine.
  • If foreign veterinarians are allowed to volunteer their services in your location, are there any requirements for them to provide veterinary services? (i.e. credentials, specific documentation or permissions)

If you are a traveller or tourist, the best way to obtain potential World Vets assistance for a location is to provide our information to a local animal welfare organization operating in the area. Have them reach out to us directly to inquire about potential veterinary assistance. As a standard policy, we do not seek out project partners or work where we are not wanted. As such, in order for us to consider assisting anywhere, we require that a request be generated from within the location in question from a locally based stakeholder.

Special notes
  • Requests for veterinary assistance are only considered for locations outside of North America
  • Requests for assistance that involve the recruitment  of individual veterinarians and/or volunteers for placements with other organizations are not considered
  • World Vets does not plan projects in areas that are at war or have a high threat of terrorist activity. For this reason, we are not able to consider project requests for areas that have major safety concerns and/or travel advisories per the U.S State Department. Specific regions of the world that we are unable to consider for assistance at this time (due to security concerns) include the Middle East, Central Asia and various parts of Africa.

 

One Easy Way to Support the Animals of Granada

One Easy Way to Support the Animals of Granada

For the month of March, we are hosting a fundraiser for the World Vets Latin America Veterinary Training Center. Our center provides free spay and neuter services to the street dogs of Granada Nicaragua while training Latin American veterinarians in proper surgery and anesthesia techniques.

Over the course of 5 years we have successfully performed over 12,000 sterilizations & trained hundreds of Latin American veterinarians and senior vet students. Thanks to your support, this professional training is provided at no cost for trainees.

donateNow_button

We sincerely appreciate your support! All donations to World Vets are tax deductible.

Life Saving Work in Roatan, Honduras

Life Saving Work in Roatan, Honduras

Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands located off the coast of Honduras in the Caribbean. Even though it may be the largest island of the archipelago, there is still more to be desired in relation to the health services provided for the small animal population. This is in part due to the limited number of practicing veterinarians on the island as well as the local population’s inability to pay for veterinary services.

To address the growing need for accessible veterinary care, World Vets has been sending veterinary teams to Roatan since 2008. Our teams not only provide much needed spay/neuter services to help control the small animal population, they also provide medical consultations, in addition to life saving procedures as is the case with Jasper, a dog that was treated on our most recent campaign.

Jasper came to be castrated, though also had substantial tumors in his scrotum that were also looked after during the surgery. While everything went well with the procedure, Jasper experienced difficulties with coagulation so he continued to bleed from the surgical site. Our team suspect this was likely due to erlichiosis (a tick-borne illness) that is highly prevalent on the island. To remedy this, our volunteers utilized pressure wraps around the area to stop the bleeding. This helped, though what he needed was more blood.

Luckily there was a large dog who had come for a consultation and whose owner was more than willing to allow our team to collect blood from him to give to Jasper. And so, in the midst of sterilizations and health consultations, our volunteers found themselves involved in an emergency a blood transfusion! We are happy to report that Jasper is doing great!

We thank Fondation Brigitte Bardot for their ongoing support of our small animal project in Roatan

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19  Scroll to top