Endangered, there’s still time. Extinct, they’re gone forever.
Those strong words are on the banner of the 2014 OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop and a reminder to us all why we must bring together the wildlife veterinarians each year in Indonesia. The battle to save orangutans has reached a pivotal time and we all must work harder and better to ensure their survival. The frontline hero vets do that every day at their rescue and rehabilitation centers in the wild, and it is our honor to host them once a year for OC/OVAG.
T.M.
Final Day Update by Dr. Raffaella Commitante
Well, we have reached the final day of our workshop. Today was about tying up loose ends and planning for next year. What is really exciting is that toward the close of the meeting, we chose new committee members. Sumita has just had a baby and may be quite busy this year and Drh, Anta has left for Australia to work on her PhD.
We clearly needed some new committee members.
Chosen were Citra and Siska representing Kalimantan and Ricko and Yenny representing Sumatra. The surprise for everyone was that Steve and I decided to turn over the organization of next year’s workshop to these new committee members!
So, OC/OVAG 2015 will be completely organized and run by the OVAG vets. Steve and I will be at their beck and call of course – but the ball is in their court. Exciting stuff.
After the meeting we were driven to another hotel where we had our conference closing dinner. There was much laughing and karaoke along with distribution of the certificates and the awarding of GAVO III (our stuffed animal mascot) to Siska for assisting in the logistics of this year’s workshop.
