The World Pheasant Association (WPA) is offering vets and nurses the chance to visit the Himalayas to learn more about its anti-poaching programmes. 

The WPA is a charity set up to protect galliformes (heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds), with projects and chapters around the world, including a project in Nepal which has been running for 45 years.

It is both a community conservation programme, providing learning to the local schools, and field survey work assessing the Himalayan pheasant numbers every four years.

Project

The project is located on the shoulder of Machhapuchhre mountain in northern central Nepal and extends down the Seti Khola Valley with dense pheasant habitat between the Seti and Mardi rivers.

Now, the WPA is running a trip to the Chitwan National Park in Nepal from 5 to 16 November for people to get involved with its work, which includes time spent working with the Vets Biodiversity Centre and the chance of up to 20 hours of CPD.

‘Encouraging’

Trustee and council member for the WPA Susie Walker-Munro said: “We work with vets, zoos and private collectors around the world to protect the gene bank of rare pheasants and galliformes – necessary should a re-introduction or stabilisation of wild populations be required.

“The best option is to intervene before this is needed as we are doing in Nepal. Working in the ACAP National Park has raised the profile of the Himalayan pheasants which is to the benefit of all the other wildlife to be found there too. Please come and visit our project as the interest shown in conservation from outside of Nepal is hugely encouraging to the Nepali vets, national park wardens and villages living within the park.”