Veterinary Department

The basic activity of a veterinarian working in a zoological park is much different from that one carried out by pet veterinarians, because it requires a different approach to each animal.
Besides the treatment of occasional conditions, the two veterinarians of Parco Natura Viva should take care of the animals welfare, cooperating with keepers and researchers.

The vets team’s job is to keep the Zoo’s collection of animals as healthy as possible and, together with keepers and scientists, optimise their welfare. Among their tasks they carry out a preventative health care programme, and they help with nutrition and advise on the design of enclosures, more and more adapted to the animals needs.

As veterinarians should manage the welfare of social group, they should control sex-ratio of the group, in order to manage conflicts arising among them, thus it’s important to move animals across zoos in order to ensure high genetic variability.
Veterinarians work close to the European coordinators (chosen person to manage the zoological European collection for each endangered species) and collaborate with the socio-sanitary local agency (ASL) and the forest rangers of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora).
 
Relationships between ASL, Universities and Prophylactic Institutes aloud to prevent and control zoonosis and more animal diseases.
Thanks to new techniques and even less invasive once as the training techniques, Parco Natura Viva’s veterinarians can anesthetized each animal, after having isolated them in a familiar area, avoiding stress to the animal and to the group. Training technique also enable veterinarians to pharmacologically treat the animal without capturing them, in collaboration with researchers and keepers.
Parco Natura Viva gives a great opportunity for students to complete their studies; they have the chance to work with Parco Natura Viva staff and share daily tasks, on a cooperation base with several Universities. Veterinary staff, in cooperation with researchers give their contribution to new enclosures design, with scientific information and thank to their confrontation with other European Institutions. Beside taking care, in a magnificent way, of our zoological collection, veterinarians conduct scientific researches in order to reach new knowledge in Veterinary Medicine.