Opening of the Onderstepoort Wildlife Clinic

The Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Professor Vinny Naidoo, speaking at the centenary celebrations Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science Professor Naidoo being congratulated by Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Kupe at the launch of the Wildlife Clinic

The new Wildlife Clinic, an expansion of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital at the Faculty of Veterinary Science

How the faculty sees the next 100 years:

• As in the founding aims, the faculty will continue to support and develop the local farming industry. Through organised agriculture, the faculty can become a driving force behind the South African economy.

Through better food production, we shall not only have a healthier nation, but the faculty’s contributions can help to build up foreign reserves through trade with international partners.

• As we move into the fourth industrial revolution, the faculty is ready to move forward and embrace technology and find innovative ways to incorporate technology into how we practise.

• The faculty has spearheaded the advancement of specialist care of animals in the country over the years. As we move forward, we have plans to advance the academic hospital, so that we move from tertiary to quaternary care.

• The faculty will ensure that all veterinary professions are supported by cutting-edge developments in science, be it through epidemiological studies, new vaccine development or big data science.

• Lastly, we want to be a school where undergraduates get the best possible clinical training that allows for outstanding patient care, be it at a local community clinic or a tertiary care facility.

As the dean, Professor Vinny Naidoo stated during his address at the faculty’s centenary celebrations in February 2020: ‘To our staff and students here today, I look forward to entering into the next century of veterinary education with you. Never before has our future looked so bright’.

The Onderstepoort Wildlife Clinic opened its doors in March 2020, becoming the first of its kind in South Africa. The clinic forms part of the faculty’s recent establishment of the wildlife centre and represents the clinical component for high-level patient care, student learning and research. The clinic consists of two buildings: the Herbivore and Carnivore units. Seven-year-old tiger Sombra was the clinic’s first patient in the Carnivore Unit. Several other animal species have since been treated in the facility, which officially forms the wildlife wing of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH), now offering specialist services to our wildlife heritage, which includes some endangered species. The clinic is unique owing to its association with the OVAH, providing direct access to the highend diagnostic and therapeutic services and equipment of the hospital’s specialist units.