The state forest department is in the process of partnering with veterinary colleges to prepare a dedicated cadre of veterinarians who can work in multiple streams. It is also working on creating a dedicated wildlife cadre of veterinarians in Karnataka to end its dependence on veterinary colleges for deputation.
“We need veterinarians who have field experience. We need them to handle animal behaviour, forensics, diseases, anaesthesia, darting and many other issues. Those currently working are students who have practised on domestic animals and have little experience on wildlife. Because of this, we are looking at entering into a partnership with veterinary colleges. The proposal will be placed before the government,” an official said.
During training, they will be tasked with field exercises along with forest staff to collect scat samples for analysis in cases of outburst of diseases and tracking cubs for rescue and relocation operations. “There is a need for a dedicated team in forest fringes to help in cattle and domestic animal assessment and wildlife deaths. So, if we can have trained veterinarians, the work will happen faster in a coordinated manner,” the official added.
The veterinarians will be trained based on the requirements of each region. For instance, the requirement in areas like Mysuru, Chamarajanagar and Ramanagara needs to be more focused on the big cats and elephants. For regions like Ballari and Vijayapura, it is for the grassland species and the focus will be more on birds. Thus the partnership will help in dividing the need for expertise and the creation of different centres across the state, instead of just focusing on Bengaluru or Mysuru alone.