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Wildlife Course for Veterinary Professionals
April 27, 2025 @ 10:00 am – 4:30 pm
This wildlife course is designed for veterinary surgeons (MRCVS), registered veterinary nurses (RVN), veterinary students, and student veterinary nurses. The course covers the entire process of dealing with wildlife casualties from admission to release.
The day is led by Felicity Whitehouse (SWWR Vet) and Dominic Phillips (Vet and SWWR Trustee) with support from other members of Secret World staff.
Felicity Whitehouse BVSc (Hons) MRCVS
Felicity is Secret World’s resident veterinary surgeon and created our on-site veterinary clinic in 2023. Felicity has worked in wildlife medicine for the past 8 years, working at a variety of rehabilitation centres and dedicated hospitals both in the UK and abroad.
Felicity’s special interests include avian medicine, wild animal pathology and captive animal welfare. Felicity is currently working part time at Secret World while also studying for her post graduate certificate in exotic animal medicine.
Dominic Phillips BVM&S, BSc, MBA, MRCVS
Dominic is an experienced veterinary surgeon with a career that has covered farm animal, companion animal and wildlife clinical practice. Dominic has over 22 years of experience of working in UK wildlife medicine and surgery; for 20 of those years, he worked as one of the vets providing the veterinary care and services for wild animal casualties at Secret World Wildlife Rescue, developing extensive clinical knowledge and experience in UK wildlife treatment.
With an early background in Zoology, Dominic now focuses his work on wildlife health and conservation, and is currently engaged in research in UK wildlife disease risks as part of a post-graduate Master’s degree in Conservation Medicine, combining his interests in UK wildlife casualty treatment with wildlife health assessments and screening for reintroduction and translocation projects.
Dominic is a Trustee of Secret World Wildlife Rescue, bringing his wildlife veterinary knowledge and experience to the board of Trustees in support of the charity.
In the morning, we will discuss legal and ethical considerations and triage, which is the essential process by which we decide which animals we can successfully treat and release and which we need to euthanise. Triage decisions are often, but not exclusively, medical. The full spectrum of factors affecting appropriate triage decisions will be discussed.
The principles of first aid in wildlife species are not, in theory, greatly dissimilar to those in domestic animals; however, some different techniques can be employed to ensure adequate delivery of first aid in these species. After the morning break, we will discuss a range of first aid techniques, including appropriate fluid therapy, analgesia, bandaging, and wound care.
The range of medical problems affecting UK mammals and birds is broad. In the afternoon sessions, we will cover most of the common problems seen in British wildlife species.
Finally, we will make use of our available wildlife cadavers to have hands-on experience examining these animals and practising first aid and other techniques.
This is a full-day course, so please bring your own packed lunch; there are facilities for heating food. Tea, coffee, and biscuits will be provided throughout the day.
Course times: 10am to 4:30pm
Cost: £175
Course delegates will receive an electronic certificate of attendance and access to a Dropbox of useful electronic British wildlife resources. Delegates will also receive a copy of our 2022 book, An Introduction to Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release.
There will also be a special offer on the BSAVA Manual of Wildlife Casualties for those registering for this course, in the form of a discount code to claim £10 off the print or digital versions of the manual.
For those looking for accommodation in the area, we have compiled the following list:
Accommodation options near Secret World Wildlife Rescue
