Committee on Wildlife Health and Conservation

Chair: Mark Cunningham Co-Chair: Scott Larsen,  Christine Fiorello
Members:

 Committee Reports

See the projects in which CWHC members are involved!

Guidelines for Veterinarians Working in in situ Conservation

Mission Statement: To enhance and promote veterinary contributions to the health and welfare of free-ranging wildlife and the ecosystems on which they depend.

Background: This committee is being established to assure that veterinary contributions to the conservation and management of free-ranging wildlife are a high priority within AAZV. Although the CWHC has some areas of interface with other AAZV Committees (e.g., Infectious Diseases) and existing AAZV activities (e.g., SSPÕs) it is not meant to duplicate or supplant any of those. CWHCÕs focus is on free-ranging wildlife populations and the ecosystems on which they depend; on landscape approaches to health; on preventive medicine; and on the activities and needs of AAZV members with responsibilities for free-ranging wildlife health.

Objectives/Purpose: The CWHC embraces the Mission Statement and Purpose(s) of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV) and the objectives of the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians (AAWV).

The objectives of the CWHC are:

• to enable the AAZV and AAWV to work more closely on issues of mutual concern;
• to enhance the contribution of veterinary medicine to the conservation and welfare of the free-ranging wildlife and the ecosystems on which they depend;
• to encourage and promote philosophies of wildlife conservation, preventive medicine and management, as it relates to free-ranging populations;
• to encourage increased emphasis on health of free-ranging species and the ecosystems on which they depend in colleges of veterinary medicine;
• to encourage recognition of disease syndromes in their broadest sense as potentially influenced by habitat successions, alteration, and pollution;
• to educate agencies and interest groups about the importance of preventive medicine; educate agencies and interest groups of services and support that may be provided by wildlife veterinarians;
• to promote and encourage the utilization of veterinarians in the fields of conservation biology, wildlife resource management and research;
• to encourage cooperative efforts among resource management professionals and wildlife veterinarians;
• to stress the importance of the interrelationships of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife as reservoirs of disease ;
• and help provide continuing education programs for wildlife veterinarians.

Committee Membership/Structure: CWHC membership will be open to any AAZV member. The CWHC shall be chaired by the current Vice-President of the AAWV; as such, chairmanship will change every two years, according to the results of AAWV officer elections. A co-chair will be chosen according to the rules and bylaws of the organization.

Committee Operations: The chairperson shall convene an annual meeting of the CWHC in conjunction with the annual meeting of the AAZV. The chair shall recruit and form ad hoc committees as necessary and warranted to accomplish the work of the CWHC. The chairperson shall prepare reports on CWHC activities and submit the reports to the Executive Board and the Executive Director of the AAZV and to the President of the AAWV prior to these organizations' semi-annual business meetings.