Conservation in Action 2025 (EXTERNAL SHARE) - Flipbook - Page 39
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Twycross Zoo’s veterinary team training Ghanian vets during a primate procedure - Adam Kay
150 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL
VETERINARY SUPPORT FOR
GHANAIAN VETS
In 2025 we increased the amount of time our
staff spent supporting in situ conservation
of wild populations, from 30 days (2023),
to 39 days (2024) to 74 days (2025).
One example of this, was our work with the West African Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA) and
Wildlife Vets International (WVI) to host and share knowledge with two vets from the Wildlife Division
within the Forestry Commission of Ghana. In 2023 they spent one week shadowing our vet team, before
visiting other zoos in the UK. On their return to Ghana, they were able to use the knowledge and skills
gained to enable developments of the veterinary care they provided to animals at their zoos. Then,
in February 2025 our Veterinary Services Manager (Phillipa Dobbs) and our Senior Vet Nurse (Sam
Ashfeld) joined two nurses from WVI in travelling to Ghana to join the in situ WAPCA team to carry out
further professional capacity sharing. They also helped train nine local veterinary students. During the
visit the team carried out preventative health checks on eleven white-naped mangabeys to assess their
health prior to a potential release into the wild in 2026.
The health checks were performed next to their forested enclosure early in the morning to avoid the
heat of the day. They included a full clinical examination, body weight and body condition score, blood
sampling, faecal sampling, body measurements, and treatments as necessary. In November 2025 this
professional capacity sharing project was presented at the British Veterinary Zoological Society in
Birmingham. This collaborative project helped build capacity in Ghana and ensure a group of individuals
for potential future release are 昀椀t and healthy, demonstrating the ‘One plan approach’ in action.
