The Orangutan Conservancy’s drive to raise the level of care in rehabilitation centers across Southeast Asia will focus on infectious diseases at the Orangutan Conservancy (OC) 2011 Veterinary Workshop, which will be held July 4-8 in Jogjakarta, Indonesia.
This is the third annual OC workshop staged for veterinarians and healthcare workers at orangutan rescue and rehabilitation centers across Borneo and Sumatra. More than 1,600 orphaned orangutans reside in those facilities, and veterinary care is a top priority.
The OC 2011 Veterinary Workshop is funded by the Birmingham (U.S.) chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK), the International Primatological Society (IPS), Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., and OC. Support is also provided by the Chester Zoo, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and ABAXIS Europe.
“The Orangutan Conservancy is very proud of the way these workshops have been able to get training, equipment and support directly to those professional who are working with the orphaned orangutans,” said OC president Norm Rosen. “These men and women are literally on the frontlines, and it is our goal to give them an opportunity to reach their full potential.”
The OC 2011 Veterinary Workshop will focus on finalizing a two-year tuberculosis (TB) testing program, which was designed in partnership with Chembio Diagnostics Inc., to gauge the level of the disease found in orphaned orangutans. Results will be analyzed and prepared for publication.
Previous OC Veterinary Workshops were held in Central Kalimantan, Borneo (2009) and Medan, Sumatra (2010).
The Orangutan Conservancy was established in 1999 to support projects that focus on wild orangutan protection; reintroduction; education; and research. In addition, the Orangutan Conservancy Scholarship funds Indonesian and Malaysian students dedicated to biodiversity education programs.
The Orangutan Conservancy is a partner of the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP). For more information, please visit the OC website, Facebook page, or contact [email protected].