The University of Edinburgh Royal School of Veterinary Studies in Scotland will enroll the first students in an online conservation medicine program this fall, the university reported. The program is targeted at international veterinarians and intends to provide them with the skills required to be effective practitioners of conservation medicine and enable them to develop solutions to ecological health issues. Starting in September, veterinarians will study part time for one to three years to earn a certificate, diploma or master’s degree. The first class includes veterinarians from Cyprus, France, India, North America, Rwanda, Turkey and the United Kingdom, the university reported this week. “Conservation medicine needs biologists, ecologists, public health specialists and vets to work together, but while a lot of vets are keen to become involved, there is limited training in this area,” said Anna Meredith, Vet.M.B., Ph.D., Cert.L.A.S., D.Zoo.Med., a professor of zoological and conservation medicine at the school. “This is why we wanted to run such a course that could be accessed by vets from all over the world.” The school appointed Dr. Meredith to head the program. She also is involved in research related to the conservation of red squirrels and Scottish wildcats. She chairs the U.K. government’s Zoos Expert Committee.
