Field Veterinary Program

A Global Approach to Health

As people and their domestic animals penetrate once pristine areas and expand their range and intensity of activities around the globe, the risk of transmitting deadly diseases to wildlife increases significantly.  Today, infectious and noninfectious diseases of humans, domestic animals and wildlife are being recognized as an increasing challenge to biodiversity conservation, as well as the efforts to improve the quality of life for humans.  Although wildlife diseases play important ecological roles, human activities have imbalanced these systems with devastating consequences including both gradual and catastrophic losses of wildlife populations. 

The WCS Field Veterinary Program, established in 1989, uses a collaborative approach to address the complexities of maintaining ecosystem health.  Working with in-country wildlife experts, government agencies and public health officers from Patagonia to Central Africa, we use our knowledge in wildlife disease to create local training programs, conduct cutting-edge health investigations, advise on policies and compile preventive guidelines to reduce disease transmission between wildlife, humans and their domestic animals.  This program -- the first of it's kind in the world -- has the added benefit of being based at WCS's Wildlife Health Center, where resident experts in animal nutrition, pathology and clinical medicine assist in assessing, monitoring, and protecting the health of wildlife worldwide. 

Our Mission:  To apply the best of the health sciences to solve modern conservation challenges.

Our Strategies: 

1) Building local capacity to care for and protect the health of wildlife worldwide,
2) Gathering and applying critically needed information to protect the health of wildlife, people, and domestic animals, and
3) Promoting policies, guidelines, and best practices to ensure a healthy planet.

Where we work:  The WCS Field Veterinary Program is active where threatened species and ecosystems have received little attention to protect their health.

If you would like to support the Field Veterinary Program click here.

If you have questions about our Field Veterinary Projects you can email fieldvet@wcs.org

This page also available in French and Spanish