HOSPITALS HELP CHINESE ZOO ANIMALS

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Vets at local zoos often turn to hospitals for medical help

Fu Yingqing and Cai Wenjun

2005-12-22 Beijing Time

IF a pet dog becomes sick, his owner can simply take him to the vet. But

what do the city's two zoos do when wild animals are injured or ill?

 

That is a dilemma for zoo keepers that there are no medical facilities in

Shanghai specializing in wild animals, and most vets never learn to treat

anything other than cats, dogs and cattle.

 

When a leopard cub from the Shanghai Wild Animal Park developed kidney

problems earlier week, animal keepers had to turn to a local children's

hospital for help.

 

Local medical experts said veterinarians are similar to general physicians,

who have basic knowledge of most diseases. But they often don't know how to

deal with more complicated syndromes.

 

Currently, no veterinary school in the city teaches clinical techniques for

treating wild animals, said an official from the Shanghai Society of Animal

and Veterinary Sciences. Shanghai Agriculture University is the only school

in the city with a veterinary major.

 

" They only offer veterinary techniques for cattle and small animals, " said

Chen Lihua, head of the veterinary hospital of the Shanghai Zoo. " I wasn't

taught how to treat a leopard at school. "

 

The six veterinarians at the zoo started their clinical practice on wild

animals only after they graduated. Their colleagues at the Shanghai Wild

Animal Park said they also had to learn on the job.

 

" Training programs are offered in the park, " said Xu Jianzhong, administer

of the park's wild animal department. " Techniques for treating the wild

animals are learned after school and through normal practice. "

 

Compared to the advanced veterinary schools in some western countries, China

still lacks specialized divisions. The park's eight veterinarians have to

take care of all the sick animals.

 

" It doesn't matter if they are birds, fish or mammals, " said Xu.

 

If an animal contracts a complex diseases, however, the two local zoos often

require assistance from hospitals, such as the recent leopard cub's case and

a 6-year-old Bengal tiger from the Shanghai Zoo, who had his teeth repaired

by a regular dentist a few years ago.

 

" Animals are different from human beings. We only can provide professional

guidance on the specific disease, but we have no experiences in treating

animal, " said Dr Xu Hong from the Fudan University Children's Hospital,

which failed to save the sick leopard cub.

 

" To prevent infection, we put the leopard in our animal experiment

laboratory during treatment. "