Managing Wildlife Cases in your Practice

Understanding the new Biodiversity Conservation Act and Regulations

Rehabilitation and Veterinary Care of Wildlife in WA

This complimentary presentation is for veterinarians and veterinary nurses and highlights important changes to the WA Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016

On 1 January 2019, the WA Biodiversity Conservation Act (2016) and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2018 replaced the Wildlife Conservation Act (1950) and its associated regulations.

Dr Simone Vitali, whom many of you will know is Senior Veterinarian at Perth Zoo, is currently working on improving veterinary understanding of the new Biodiversity Conservation Act and Regulations. Particularly, how this legislation impacts the way veterinary facilities manage wildlife cases, and how it is applied to the rehabilitation of native fauna in Western Australia.

In this presentation, Dr Vitali , together with Dr Juanita Renwick and Mr Lyle Gilbert from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, will focus on important changes to the Act and Regulations that veterinarians and veterinary nurses need to be aware of when managing wildlife cases in their practices.

Got questions about how to deal with wildlife when it is brought to your practice? This is the perfect opportunity to get all those questions answered by the experts and authorities on the subject!


Dr Simone Vitali

Simone is the Senior Veterinarian at Perth Zoo and has been working with WA wildlife for over 20 years. She is currently undertaking a secondment with DBCA Parks and Wildlife, working on projects relating to wild animal welfare and wildlife health management.

Dr Juanita Renwick

Juanita is the Principal Zoologist at DBCA and has been working in conservation management in WA for the last 15 years. Her roles have encompassed conservation policy, land management and threatened species recovery. She is currently also the Chair of the Department’s Animal Ethics Committee and is involved in animal welfare and wildlife health.

Mr Lyle Gilbert

Lyle is a Regional Wildlife Officer and has been working with native fauna in this role for nearly 15 years. He also had a 16 year career as a paramedic for the WA Ambulance Service. He is currently posted to the Wildlife Protection Branch of DBCA Kensington.

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Wildlife Health and Conservation Short Course

Please Register your Expression of Interest

We look forward to running our Wildlife Health and Conservation Short Course when Travel Restrictions Ease.

This 5 day intensive short course will provide participants with the practical training needed to confidently incorporate wildlife health into their existing roles and career pathways. Wildlife and biodiversity are globally threatened by emerging diseases, with biosecurity implications for human and livestock health, resulting in the need for those working on the frontline with wildlife to possess the skills and knowhow to undertake disease surveillance. This includes rangers, ecologists, environmental consultants in mining, rehabilitation centres, veterinary nurses and veterinarians in practice, and not-for-profit wildlife conservation organisations.

Key features of the course include the relevance of wildlife health to a range of organisations and careers, how to capture/restrain and sample different species, which samples to collect and what test to use, humane euthanasia, chemical immobilisation including darting, and necropsy of different taxonomic groups.

The course is highly practical, with two thirds being delivered as laboratory or field sessions to apply the information gained through concise lecture material. All participants will be provided with the equipment needed to conduct the various lab and field activities, and course notes including copies of lecture slides. There is a focus on basic principles and ethical approaches, as well as relevant legislation for certain activities such as chemical immobilisation and euthanasia.

Wildlife Health and Conservation Short Course Program

Modelled on our successful Wildlife Health and Conservation Masters, this short course offers practical training relevant to individuals exposed to wildlife in their everyday lives.  For further information on our Master’s program offering comprehensive theory and applied research training on wildlife health including disease risk analysis, please visit: http://goto.murdoch.edu.au/WildlifeHealth

Course learning outcomes:
Following completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Explain the need for wildlife health and disease surveillance globally, and how their current and future roles fit into these activities
• Describe the principles and approaches to wildlife captures, including manual and chemical restraint
• Explain the purpose of, and approach to, different diagnostic sampling activities
• Undertake key wildlife health procedures including necropsy, blood smear preparation, tissue sampling, and serum separation for antibody testing.  
• Identify legislation that applies to wildlife health activities, and incorporate ethics and welfare into the techniques taught throughout the program
• Incorporate ethical and welfare considerations into the techniques taught throughout the program

For further information, please email CAVE@murdoch.edu.au