Treating Animals Today, Training Vets For Tomorrow
Worldwide Vets is a charity aiming to reduce suffering, advance welfare and improve medical care available to animals worldwide.
In order to achieve this goal, we work in over 10 countries, across 4 continents, supporting local people and animals, vet clinics and conservation initiatives. Each of our locations is unique, but whether we are working with wild or domestic animals, helping shelters, organising sterilisation campaigns, or training local vets, the aim is the same: to improve the lives of the animals.
We offer a multi-modal approach to assisting animals, including:
-
Sending vets to areas needing support
-
Sourcing and sending medications and equipment
-
Training local vets and technicians
-
Ongoing volunteer programs and courses
STORY
It all started with a dog...
In 2006, Worldwide Vets’ director, Dr Gemma Campling, was on holiday in India. She was enjoying the cool mountain air of the Himalayas, with its beautiful scenery, towering temples and welcoming hospitality. Then a small black dog limped out in front of her, and it changed her life forever.
As she approached, the weak little dog cowered behind a car. Gemma could see the bones of her foot sticking out, the limb had been shredded from involvement in a road traffic accident. She tried in vain to find a veterinarian to assist the dog. There were no local vets in the area, those further afield did not have the means to reach her.
She swore that she would change this situation, and the concept of Worldwide Vets was born.
OUR
Worldwide Vets works for charities
and organisations who need extra
support and funding to reach as many animals as possible. We send out medical equipment, provide logistical support and most importantly we send volunteers, animal lovers just like you.
Volunteers include veterinarians, nurses, students, those with no training but a deep love for animals and making a difference. People with a fire in their bellies to step out of the world they know, to travel far from home, and help the helpless.
We are delighted to let you know our founder and CEO Dr Gemma Campling, has been chosen as the recipient for the WSAVA 2024 Future Leader Award.
The recognition highlights Dr. Campling’s significant impact on veterinary medicine and training, her commitment to improving global animal welfare, and her outstanding leadership in the field. In a recent interview Dr Campling said "A single person can't win an award like this. It takes a whole team of dedicated people to get here. Hundreds of like minded vets, nurses, techs, animal lovers, friends, and family, to give years of support, guidance and education. It is thanks to them I have managed to make Worldwide Vets into the international force for good that it is today"
Dr. Gemma Campling, CEO and Founder of Worldwide Vets, has made remarkable strides in veterinary care across the globe. With a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery from Nottingham University, UK, Dr. Campling has devoted her career to improving animal health and welfare in challenging environments such as conflict zones. Her extensive experience includes frontline veterinary outreach for both animals and owners affected by the war in Ukraine, community outreach and sterilization programs in Thailand and India, and high caseload equine practice in Egypt, among other significant contributions.
Becasue of her work, today we are able to coordinate donations of medicines, equipment and send vets to developing countries. She founded a mental health course for vets called THRIVE, and formed the Golden Star Award to highlight achievements of others in the profession. Since 2022 she has worked on the frontline in Ukraine saving pets, as well as balancing commitments on the frontline of wildlife conservation in Africa. Whether she is dehorning rhino or rescuing dogs, she does it with passion and dedication and is an inspiration to us all.
Dr. Ellen van Nierop, President of WSAVA, expressed her admiration for Dr. Campling’s achievements: “Dr. Campling is a credit to her community, as her work not only saves lives but also provides quality training opportunities for future generations of veterinarians"
In September Gemma will head to the 2024 WSAVA conference in China to receive the award and present more details about her worldwide missions.
Learn more about Gemma’s remarkable career on the WSAVA page : https://wsava.org/updates/future-leader-award
Worldwide Vets is registered in the UK, with our administrative head office close to London, England. We are also registered as a charity within the US. Further afield, we are working across the globe to strive for better animal welfare. We work in South America, Africa, Asia and Europe, having clinics or teams in India, Borneo, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zanzibar, Ghana, Cambodia, Peru, Costa Rica and Madagascar, to name just a few.
Our dedicated team of vets, nurses, technicians, and conservation support staff work every day of the year to ensure that any animal presented to us can receive the best possible care and treatment. The jobs are diverse and varied. On any given day, between the four continents where we operate, our team are carrying out worthwhile missions for a range of animals. It may be that we are rescuing snared wildlife or translocating endangered species like lions, rhinos, elephants, pangolins, turtles or sloths to safer environments. Often we are reaching deep into poverty-stricken communities, providing preventative and reactive medicine to dogs and cats, cows, goats, sheep and poultry.
Community education and empowerment is an important part of our ethos, and we strongly believe that the local communities are the best people to care for local animals. It is through capacity building, education and school teaching sessions that we really make a sustainable difference in the countries where we operate.
We welcome volunteers to join our mission and contribute to the role we play. Doing so is a great way to give something back to the world around you, saving innocent lives, alleviating poverty and playing your part in sustaining the natural and cultural planet we know today. It is a chance to challenge yourself, learn new skills, make a difference, and see the world in a new light, being welcomed to each destination not as a tourist, but as a helper and member of our family. With the challenges facing us all in the 21st century, there has never been a more important time for volunteers to come together and take responsibility for the animals and world around us.
Every year we have around 400 volunteers join us from all corners of the world. Many volunteers are applying to or already studying at some of the world's top institutions such as those listed below. We are honored to have done presentations, interactive sessions and practicals about working with animals and conservation on site at most of these schools.
Can my attendance count as British EMS and C-EMS, now that paid placements are not allowed?
YES! Our project fee covers the cost of your accommodation, food, and airport transfers. Much like the costs of staying in a hotel or B&B if training away from home in the UK. We don’t charge for your training or spending time with our vets. We love having students along to learn from us, and be inspired to support charitable work. We have a reliable and trusted accommodation for each project, so ask all volunteers to stay in our chosen lodging.