ORANGUTAN CONSERVANCY ORANGUTAN VETERINARY ADVISORY GROUP WORKSHOP 2014 REPORT 1 Photos provided by Winny Pramesyswari, Arga, Ayu Budi Handayani and Raffaella Commitante Orangutan Conservancy Veterinary Workshop logo courtesy Amy Burgess © Copyright 2014 by Orangutan Conservancy Prepared with participants of the Orangutan Conservancy 2014 Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group (OVAG) Workshop, Jogjakarta, Indonesia June 21-26, 2014 R. Commitante, S. Unwin (Editors). Orangutan Conservancy (OC). 2014. Orangutan Conservancy 2014 Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group Workshop Report. Additional copies of the Orangutan Conservancy 2014 Veterinary Advisory Group Workshop Report and previous years’ reports can be ordered through the Orangutan Conservancy, P.O. Box 513, 5001Wilshire Blvd., #112, Los Angeles, California, 90036, USA., or go to our website at www.orangutan.com 2 Jogjakarta, Indonesia June 21-26 2014 Orangutan Conservancy 2014 Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group (OVAG) Workshop June 21-26, 2014 Universitas Gadjah Mada, Facultas Kedoktoran Hewan, Jogjakarta, Indonesia Participating Organizations (26): Orangutan Conservancy, United States Chester Zoo / NEZS, United Kingdom Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, Jogjakarta, Indonesia Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), Medan, Indonesia Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, Nyaru Menteng, Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, Samboja Lestari, Samboja, East Kalimantan, Indonesia Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, HQ, Bogor, Indonesia PT Rhoi, BOSF, Indonesia Orangutan Foundation United Kingdon (OFUK) Central Kalimantan, Indonesia International Animal Rescue, Indonesia ABAXIS Europe, Germany Jogja Wildlife Center, Jogjakarta, Indonesia Frankfurt Zoological Society/Jambi SOCP Orangutan Release Site, Sumatra, Indonesia Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, Sabak, East Malaysia Center for Orangutan Protection (COP), Indonesia Vesswic, Sumatera, Indonesia Orangutan Information Center, Aceh, Sumatera, Indonesia Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center (PPST), North Sulawesi, Indonesia Aspinal Foundation – Indonesia Program Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Fort Worth Zoo Animal Sanctuary Trust Indonesia Vier Pfoten, Austria Semarang Zoo Gunung Merapi National Park Bureau 3 Supporting Organizations: Orangutan Conservancy, United States Chester Zoo/ NEZS, United Kingdom The Orangutan Project (TOP) Australia ABAXIS, Germany Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Hosted By: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, Jogjakarta, Indonesia 4 ORANGUTAN CONSERVANCY ORANGUTAN VETERINARY ADVISORY GROUP WORKSHOP 2014 REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 1 Executive Summary Feedback from the delegates Budget Section 2 Letter of Invitation Agenda Participants Contact List Section 3 Proceedings Section 4 Appendices 5 ORANGUTAN CONSERVANCY ORANGUTAN VETERINARY ADVISORY GROUP WORKSHOP 2014 REPORT Section 1 6 Executive Summary The Orangutan Conservancy/Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group (OC/OVAG) held its 6th workshop in its new permanent location, Jogjakarta, Indonesia. This new home allows for the long term collaboration between Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and its Facultas Kedoktoran Hewan (Department of Veterinary Medicine), Chester Zoo, Liverpool University (England) and Orangutan Conservancy (USA). This new collaboration will enable OC/OVAG and UGM to partner with universities and zoos internationally to share and increase knowledge, the exchange of vet staffs and further educational experiences on a much wider level. This was something covered in last year’s 2013 executive summary and it is coming to fruition. As has been stated in many of the previous reports, veterinarians and staff that have joined our group over the years, collectively care for the largest captive population of orangutans in the world. They do not lack skill or commitment but they do face ongoing difficult challenges such as being short of medicine, equipment, money, space, support staff, current resources and time. The Orangutan Conservancy is committed to continuing to stage the Orangutan Conservancy /Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group (OC/OVAG) Workshops. The 2014 annual workshop was held in Jogjakarta, Indonesia took place June 21 – 26. The workshops, inaugurated in 2009 in Borneo, gather together veterinary teams and staff working in both Indonesia and Malaysia, giving them a rare opportunity to share and hone skills, discuss issues and ideas, and renew friendships that could someday mean the difference between life and death for endangered apes in Southeast Asia. As the only great apes found in Asia, orangutans continue to remain in severe crisis. Their natural range is limited to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, with these areas continuing to decrease in size and quality. With loss of forest due to oil palm conversion, coal production, gold extraction and of course logging (just to list a few), more than 80 percent of the orangutans’ habitat has been destroyed over the last 20 years, and estimates show that approximately only 40,000 orangutans are thought to exist. The continuing decline of orangutan numbers in the wild may signal the potential loss of a valuable species. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we work together as an international community to prevent the only great ape found outside of Africa from disappearing. By continuing to broaden our collaborations both in situ and beyond, OC/OVAG members and affiliates hope to be able to contribute to orangutan species longevity and well-being. The 2014 OC /OVAG Workshop continued to focus on the issues relating to orangutan releases (primarily health issues regarding pre and post released individuals), with particular interest on wild animal welfare and ethics issues pertaining to both released, soon to be released and un-releasable orangutans. A special DNA workshop was also held by UGM faculty, allowing for OC/OVAG members to better understand the extraction process. We also continued our ongoing work with parasites and other illnesses and diseases. During the 2014 OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop, veterinarians continued to present case studies (this year focusing on welfare issues), working in groups in break outs sessions (again focused on welfare issues), attended sessions led by UGM faculty and OC/OVAG members and facilitators. Before our 2014 workshop officially began, an all-day Orangutan Symposium organized by UGM Veterinary faculty staff and students was held. The symposium featured the orangutan work being done by alumni of UGM (all are OC/OVAG members). This was truly exciting because it allowed for faculty to see how far their students have gone and for new students to see how far they can go!!! The symposium was graciously opened by Dr. drh. Indarjulianto Soedarmanto, Vice Dean of the Veterinary faculty at UGM. New this year was the addition of a scientific writing component. Publishing the case studies that OC/OVAG vets have handled over the years is important in the sharing of valuable information on a wider scale. We hope to work on writing skills throughout this coming year toward the goal of OC/OVAG vets publishing in a variety of journals. 7 The 2014 OC /OVAG Workshop was sponsored by the Orangutan Conservancy (USA), Chester Zoo/ NEZS (United Kingdom), The Orangutan Project (TOP – Australia), Fort Worth Children’s Zoo(USA) , Abaxis (Europe), and of course, Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indonesia). The 2014 OC/OVAG Workshop, included 44 veterinarians, and others working closely with orangutans and other wildlife participated. Participants varied from orangutan rescue and rehabilitation vets, to zoo vets, national park employees, Department of Forestry employee vets, orangutan researchers, University faculty and others from Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Germany. Because OC/OVAG veterinary staff are at the frontline of addressing the welfare and conservation needs of ill or injured orangutans and other wildlife, enhancing their knowledge and skills through the 2015 OVAG CPD (Continuing Professional Development) opportunities will help them to ensure the best outcome for each individual animal. The program will provide expert clinical technique demonstration, written materials in primate medicine and wildlife disease surveillance and analysis. Primate medicine experts, university representatives, part of the finance and the venues are already organized. The goal will be measured by expert evaluation of participants’ clinical techniques onsite and testing of knowledge before and after training using ROI (Return On Investment) protocols. An evaluation report will be completed by the end of 2015, to include data from 2011-2015. This project will help form the basis of a university certified post graduate course in conservation medicine at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia, specifically, and conservation medicine in general, based on OC/OVAG and Chester Zoo materials and involving OC/OVAG animal health participants in collaboration with relevant zoo and university veterinary, animal husbandry and conservation science colleagues. This goal builds upon OC/OVAG delegates who are already engaged in management roles in various conservation organizations and occasional tutoring or lecturing at veterinary colleges and courses in universities. Presentation of potential conservation medicine programs or input to relevant universities is expected by the end of 2015, with memorandums of understanding with specific universities and course development by mid- 2016. OC/OVAG veterinarians and scientists are a major force in shaping conservation medicine work across Indonesia and Malaysia. OC/OVAG will provide expert training on relevant disease investigation techniques and an appreciation of conservation management on a global scale which will result in an increase in the number of wild orangutans able to be SUITABLY released through immediate and appropriate medical and rehabilitation care. Impact will be measured by the quality of healthcare assessed within the centers the candidates are employed via annual assessments and 2-3 yearly on-site inspections. Though the 2014 OC/OVAG Workshop (as with all the previous workshops) was designed and facilitated by Dr. Steve Unwin of the Chester Zoo, in partnership with Dr. Raffaella Commitante of Orangutan Conservancy, OC/OVAG’s success is reliant on its participants. The 2015 OVAG workshop will be run by OVAG an organizing committee whose members have formerly been delegates only. The 2015 workshop will include a larger component of conservation management, and incorporate project management and decision makers as participants. Support will be provided to the organizing committee by the current facilitators. Success will be measured by delegate and committee feedback, and evaluated using the same ROI measures used in previous years, in a report published by October 2015. 8 Organizing Committee for 2015: drh. Ricko Jaya drh. Yenny S. Jaya drh. CitraKasih Nente drh. Fransiska Sulistyo This new team will work together throughout the year, keeping up contact with the other OC/OVAG members, to lead the 2015 workshop (which will be held again in Jogjakarta, Indonesia with UGM in the first week of June 2015). The OC/OVAG Workshops will continue to help build a community of veterinary healthcare experts that stands strongest when it stands together. Together we can do anything! Raffaella Commitante, B.F.A., M.A., PhD Steve Unwin, B.Sc., B.V.Sc., M.R.C.V.S The OC/OVAG Committee: Steve Unwin Anta Rosetyadewi Fransiska Sulistyo Sumita Sugnaseelan Raffaella Commitante 9 ORANGUTAN CONSERVANCY ORANGUTAN VETERINARY ADVISORY GROUP WORKSHOP 2014 REPORT Feedback From Delegates: Strongly Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Agree Disagree New Knowledge: Did I gain useful knowledge? 26 4 0 0 0 New Ideas: Did I gain new ideas that will improve the way I do my job? 15 15 0 0 0 Applying the learning: Will I use the information? 17 13 0 0 0 Applying the learning: Have I been shown how to impart this knowledge to colleagues and managers? 7 22 1 0 0 Effect on results: Do I think the ideas and information provided at this workshop will improve the way I do my job? 15 15 0 0 0 Effect on results: Do I think the ideas and information provided at this workshop will improve the health of the animals under my care? 13 17 0 0 0 10