Introduction to Wildlife Medicine for Veterinary Professionals
The Wisconsin Wildlife Rehabilitators Association, in partnership with the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, is pleased to offer Introduction to Wildlife Medicine for Veterinary Professionals, a one-day seminar targeting veterinarians, veterinary students, veterinary technicians, and veterinary technician students on Friday, February 9, 2024. This program has been approved by RACE for 8 hours of continuing education credit (6 hours medical and 2 hours non-medical) in jurisdictions which recognize RACE approval.
This seminar aims to increase veterinary professionals' knowledge and comfort level for treating wildlife, and promote working in partnership with rehabilitators. Topics covered include laws and regulations; resources, references, and mentors available for wildlife veterinary care; ethics; euthanasia; orphaned wildlife; working with area wildlife rehabilitators; and admission exams and diagnostics for injured mammals, turtles, and birds. The seminar precedes the 2024 WWRA Annual Rehabilitation Conference, which will be held on Saturday, February 10 at the same location.
Presenters
Dr. Mans
Christoph Mans is a native of Germany and completed his studies in veterinary medicine at the University of Leipzig (Germany) and Berne (Switzerland). This was followed by an internship in Avian and Exotic Animal Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College (Canada) and employment in private practice in Hong Kong. He completed his residency in zoological medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Milwaukee County Zoo. He is currently a clinical professor of zoological medicine at the University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine.
For the past ten years, Dr. Mans has maintained a partnership with the Dane County Humane Society’s Wildlife Center to provide learning opportunities for students and veterinarians and simultaneously offer an advanced level veterinary care to the center’s patients. In 2021, he founded the UW Wildlife Medicine Program in order to significantly enhance veterinary student learning opportunities in the field of wildlife rehabilitation medicine at UW-Madison.
Dr. Bloss
Dr. Jennifer Bloss is a founding owner of Brook-Falls Veterinary Hospital & Exotic Care in Menomonee Falls, WI. She grew up in the Milwaukee area and studied Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before attending the University’s Veterinary School. At that time, the school didn’t have a formal exotics program, so Dr. Bloss spent a month of her senior year at the first exotics-only clinic in the country in Chicago. The experience she had in this clinic laid the foundation for her mentoring other veterinary students interested in exotic animals.
Registration Information
When and Where
Friday, February 9 2024, 8:30a – 5:30p
Goodman Community Center
Brassworks building
214 Waubesa Street, Madison, WI
Registration Form needs to include:
Name, address, email, phone, affiliation; License number (if applying for RACE credit); Jurisdiction of licensee
Cost (includes lunch)
Non-members - $110
WWRA members - $80
Students - $70
Registration increases $10 after January 31, 2024
Scholarship Information
Scholarships for up to $100, covering registration and travel, are available to both members and non-members!
Members should apply using the Educational Grant application form on the Members page. Non-members should send an email requesting an application.
Mentoring veterinary students and other veterinarians in exotic medicine and surgery is a particular passion for Dr. Bloss. Brook-Falls has hosted over 100 veterinary students for internships during their senior year. Foreign veterinarians have even visited Brook-Falls to learn exotic animal medicine and surgery. She is a past president of the Waukesha Veterinary Medical Association and has published articles in peer-reviewed veterinary journals in avian anesthesia.
She has also led clinical laboratories for veterinary students at the state veterinary convention, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Wildlife in Need Center in Oconomowoc, WI and a member of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Rehabilitation Advisory Committee.
Dr. Johnson
Dr. Laura Johnson has been a private practice small animal/avian veterinarian for over 35 years. For most of that time she has also been a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, working mainly with raptors. She is the consulting veterinarian for several wildlife rehabilitators and facilities in Southwest Wisconsin. She has been a veterinarian with Tender Care Animal Hospital in Prairie du Chien, WI since 2008, was a Partners for Wildlife, U of MN Raptor Center; veterinary fellow, and is currently a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Rehabilitation Advisory Committee member.
Lisa Fosco
Lisa Fosco (Elisa) has been rehabilitating wildlife for over 35 years. She is currently the Director of Animal Care and Wildlife Rehabilitator at the Wildlife In Need Center in Oconomowoc, WI. Lisa is a licensed veterinary technician (RVT), a wildlife biologist (BA), a certified wildlife rehabilitator (CWR), and holds her Advanced Wisconsin Wildlife Rehabilitation License. She spent several years as a home rehabilitator and has managed high volume wildlife centers across North America, including her time managing the largest wildlife rehabilitation organization in Canada. She also spent a year doing field work, focusing on the re-introduction and post-release monitoring of endangered species.
For several decades she has been a regular presenter at state, national and international wildlife conferences. She is an instructor for the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and has taught professional wildlife medicine and rehabilitation on 5 continents.
Gail Buhl
Gail Buhl is the Partnership Coordinator for Partners For Wildlife (P4W). Gail graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota. She has worked and volunteered in wildlife rehabilitation and the Ambassador Animal world for over 30 years. Her professional career has focused on presenting and training Ambassadors to present to the public to help them become environmentally literate in an engaging way.
Gail is a renowned instructor, teaching continuing education for wildlife rehabilitation and Ambassador Animal training at the state and national level. She received her own Master Level wildlife rehabilitation permit in Minnesota in 2001 and the USFWS in 2005 and is an “equal-opportunity” wildlife rehabilitator. P4W is endeavoring to build excellence and increase animal welfare in wildlife rehabilitation.
Peggy Popp
Peggy Popp is the President of the Wisconsin Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Association, and holds an Advanced Wisconsin Wildlife Rehabilitation license. She is an independent, home-based rehabilitator specializing in orphaned mustelids and bats.
As a final project for her fellowship with the University of Minnesota Raptor Center’s Partners for Wildlife (P4W) she partnered with a Minnesota P4W veterinarian fellow to develop a Tool Kit of resources for enhancing the wildlife rehabilitator and veterinarian partnership.
Peggy has extensively researched and studied mustelid rehabilitation, and has spoken at state, national, and international wildlife rehabilitation conferences. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, and works as an environmental scientist for a national environmental engineering company to support her work as a rehabilitator.
Dr. Franzen-Klein
Dr. Dana Franzen-Klein is the medical director at The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Dana is a 2013 graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. After several clinical experiences in zoo and wildlife medicine during veterinary school, she found that clinical wildlife rehabilitation medicine was her passion.
She completed a one-year internship at the Wildlife Center of Virginia from June 2015 – 2016, where duties included providing medical care for native wildlife, public outreach, consultations and clinical teaching. In August 2016 she came to The Raptor Center (TRC) at the University of Minnesota to complete a three-year clinical residency and a Master’s of Science graduate program.
In July 2019, she transitioned to full time staff at TRC and became an instructor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Her clinical duties included providing medical care for the approximately 1,000 wild raptors that TRC treats on an annual basis, maintaining a wellness program for captive educational raptors, prospective research and publications, remote consultations, along with clinical training for veterinary interns, our veterinary resident, veterinary students, post-graduate veterinarians from around the world, and wildlife rehabilitators. As The Raptor Center enters its 50th year, she is also working to advance the service, research and teaching mission of the clinic.
Erin Lemley
Erin Lemley is a Certified Veterinary Technician and Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator at Dane County Humane Society’s Wildlife Center in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. She has been working with wildlife since she started at the center as a volunteer in 2010. She made the career switch to wildlife medicine in 2013 by attending the veterinary technician program at Madison College. She graduated in 2015 and started working full-time at DCHS’s Wildlife Center, where she manages veterinary care of wildlife patients and also works as a rehabilitator.
In 2021, Erin became the Program Coordinator for UW School of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Medicine Program, which brings 4th year veterinary students to DCHS’s Wildlife Center for a two-week rotation to help them become comfortable working with wildlife. Through the partnership with UW and also with the State Laboratory of Hygiene, she has been a co-author on several papers about wildlife rehabilitation. She has spoken at state and national wildlife rehabilitation conferences, has taught online classes for veterinary technician students, and is a board member for the Association of Wildlife Veterinary Technicians and Nurses. In the clinic, Erin especially enjoys wound management, clinical pathology, and organizing donations to the Non-Eagle Feather Repository.
Register for Introduction to Wildlife Medicine for Veterinary Professionals
WWRA is a 501c3 organization dedicated to serving the wildlife rehabilitation community. WWRA activities are supported by annual membership fees, donations and grants.
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