Academic Staff
- Dr Tony Sainsbury, Institute of Zoology
Tony Sainsbury is the course director based at the Institute of Zoology. He is a Senior Lecturer in Wild Animal Health. Tony’s interests lie in the epidemiology of infectious diseases and the surveillance of diseases in wild animal populations. He is a European Recognised Specialist in Zoological Medicine (Wildlife Population Health).
- Michael Waters, Royal Veterinary College
Mike Waters is a lecturer in Clinical Pathology and is the RVC-based course director for this MSc course. He graduated from Sydney University and holds an MSc in Wild Animal Health from the University of London - Professor Mark Fox, Royal Veterinary College
Mark Fox qualified as a vet at the Royal Veterinary College in 1977 and, after a period in small animal practice, returned to study for a PhD in veterinary parasitology. He then went on to set up the MSc courses in Wild Animal Health (1994) and Wild Animal Biology (2003) with the Institute of Zoology (ZSL).
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Professor Andrew Cunningham, Institute of Zoology
Andrew Cunningham joined the Institute of Zoology in 1988 as Veterinary Pathologist for the ZSL. In 2001 he became head of Wildlife Epidemiology at the IOZ.
Fees and Financial Support
See here: MSc Wild Animal Health - Fee Support
How do I apply?
See here: MSc Wild Animal Health - How Do I Apply
Or contact:
The Graduate School
The Royal Veterinary College
Royal College Street
London NW1 0TU
United Kingdom
Email : graduateschool@rvc.ac.uk
Tel : +44 (0) 20 7468 5134
Fax : +44 (0) 20 7468 5060
After studying veterinary medicine, Marcus Clauss did the MSc course in Wild Animal Health. The MSc research project on the feeding and digestive physiology of captive giraffe got him into contact with his next employer, the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany. His next research was in the field of nondomestic herbivore nutrition, working on moose, black and greater one-horned rhino, hippos and various ruminant species. He did a 5-year postdoc period at the Institute of Animal Physiology, Physiological Chemistry and Animal Nutrition at the University of Munich, before he found tenure as the Head of Research at the Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife at the University of Zurich. He is actively involved in graduate and postgraduate education (and also teaches on the MSc WAH nowadays), has supervised a large number of MSc and PhD theses, and continues research in the area of digestive physiology, anatomy and nutrition of various herbivores, omnivores and carnivores; he has since worked on topics from life history, husbandry and zoo management. 
The MSc Wild Animal Health has been a very enriching experience, both from human and professional perspective. It was the opportunity to broaden my knowledge in wild animal medicine and increase my awareness on conservation issues. I am now enrolled in a wildlife medicine residency in Canada. I am convinced the MSc gave me the necessary background to reach that position, and will help me in the future to achieve the ACZM board certification.
I have been previously employed by the Myanma Timber Enterprise, Ministry of Forestry as the Head of Elephant Section, Extraction Department. I attended MSc (Wild Animal Health) Course in 2000. The course gave me the opportunity to pursue PhD programme which reflects my own unique interests in Asian elephant ecology and population demography. After finishing my PhD in 2007, I worked as the Asian Elephant Consultant in SE Asian countries and in zoological collections in UK. Currently I work in the position of Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK. I am taking the role of Project Co-ordinator of Myanmar Elephant Research Project. I co-supervise PhD and MSc projects with Dr, Virpi Lummaa (Reader in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Sheffield). I oversee research activities in Myanmar and liaise between International scientists and the Myanmar Government. Our research group aims to determine factors affecting health, fertility and mortality rates in the captive elephants of Myanmar and devising strategies to improve them.
Following my completion of the MSc in Wild Animal Health in 2006, I was appointed as a wildlife veterinary epidemiologist. I actively participated in the control of many diseases including the Avian Influenza outbreak in Ghana in April 2007, and am Unit Head of the Wildlife Surveillance Unit of the European Union Avian Influenza Project in Ghana and a member of the Avian Influenza Ghana National Working Group. I have worked closely with a range of leading international research institutions and organizations, such as WHO, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (USA), and I am currently collaborating with the Institute of Zoology (ZSL), Animal Health laboratory Agency and the Cambridge University (UK). This collaboration focuses on viral zoonoses of fruit bats; the findings of this have been published in leading international journals and presented at international scientific fora. I am also a PhD student at the University of Ghana with affiliation with the Institute of zoology. I am the Immediate past president of the Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA), and currently the first vice president. The MSc in Wild Animal Health has been very helpful in shaping my career.
I have been involved in animal conservation since 2004 when I became veterinary surgeon in Chile. In 2006/7 I followed my MSc studies in Wild Animal Health and since then I have continued being linked with ZSL through my PhD in Conservation Medicine and the EDGE Programme. The MSc in Wild Animal Health is one of the most important experiences in my life. Professionally, I developed in the areas of wildlife medicine, wildlife population health and conservation, but personally I also made excellent friends from all over the world and I growth as a person. Today, I am academic and researcher at the Faculty of Ecology and Natural Resources, Universidad Andres Bello, Chile, and always I have felt deeply grateful from the MSc programme.
Following the completion of my MSc in Wild Animal Health in 2003 I worked as a wildlife veterinarian for 2 years before starting a PhD in Epidemiology at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, investigating Bovine tuberculosis at the human-livestock-wildlife interface in Ethiopia. I am currently a research team leader in Zoonosis/One-Health where wildlife and ecosystem health play a big role. Besides being a researcher, I also continue to work as a practicing wildlife veterinarian in Ethiopia as well as lecturing wildlife medicine, and epidemiology at several veterinary faculties at under-and postgraduate levels. The MSc program was without doubt the most important stepping stone in my career.
Persuing a Masters in Wild Animal Health was a dream come through and one of the best experiences. This course gave me a chance to be lectured and work alongside Veterinarians that wrote the wildlife textbooks that I studied from. It broadened my knowledge on wildlife medicine and management and welfare of wildlife. It also stimulated my interest in conservation and emerging diseases. The practical component was my favourite as we were on rotations at well-established Zoos. It was a great opportunity to network with people from around the world and build a rapport. I am still in contact with my colleagues and contact them when I need a consult. I am sure this masters will help me advance in my career, as I am now the first qualified Wildlife Veterinarian in my home country of Trinidad. 
The special design of this MSc course encouraged me to seek answers by myself and through the discussions with the colleagues who have different academic backgrounds and perspectives. Also, the lecturers are the real experts working on various fields, from animal welfare to veterinary medicine, from captive wildlife management to field research, they equipped me with extensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills in both in-situ conservation and ex-situ wildlife management. The most attractive part of the course was to develop my own research based on my interests. I travelled to Yunnan, China to study the human-elephant conflict issue which was a valuable experience and provided a good starting point for my future career in China.
The Masters in Wild Animal Health was a fantastic introduction into the conservation science arena. The course gave us a firm grounding in the basic tools needed for a role in conservation, with a diverse range of speakers providing lectures in their specialist fields, ranging from statistics and virology through to practical classes on remote capture techniques and cetacean rescue. For those interested in a job in conservation, or who just want to discover more about this rapidly emerging field of science, I would highly recommend this course.
'The MSc course in Wild Animal Health was memorable in more ways than one. Personally, it encouraged me to ask critical questions and seek answers, and fit well with my nature to learn by myself. The course gives great emphasis on the diseases and treatment of wildlife from a unique eco-system and conservation medicine perspective, something that is invaluable in today’s changing wildlife conservation scenario. The chance to work with excellent wildlife veterinarians and biologists at one of the premier wildlife conservation societies in the world is also an experience not to be missed. I made great friends and some relationships that will last a lifetime. All in all, this MSc. course brilliantly encapsulates the exceedingly vast field of wildlife and conservation medicine in a short period of one year, and is highly recommended for anyone looking to get into this field.'
'The MSc Wild Animal Health not only give me knowledge on wildlife veterinary medicine but also open my mind to the conservation aspect, which is very important currently. It’s been also a great opportunity to learn and work with a famous institution like ZSL, IoZ or RVC. Even now I’m back to work at my home country, I still contact my friends and colleagues over there. This course is one of the best experience in my life.'
'I am a Chilean veterinarian that due to my passion for wildlife wanted to continue expanding my knowledge, spending a year in the clinic of Chile's National Zoo and participating in various internships at zoos in Canada and USA. Once working at the Official Veterinary Service of Chile I chose the MSc WAH in order to obtain tools to discover what needs to be done in my country in terms of wildlife. The MSc WAH not only gave me those helpful tools, but also broadened my view about the important role we play as professionals for the conservation of species worldwide.'
'Through the MSc Wild Animal Health I was able to broaden my knowledge in wildlife, zoological and conservation medicine. My MSc project allowed me to gain experience in the field working with free-ranging animals. I met lots of interesting people during my MSc who provided with me further opportunities such as the chance to perform an internship at the Dubai falcon hospital. After my MSc I completed a residency in zoological medicine at the Zurich zoo and became ACZM board certified in 2012. Since 2011 I work as senior lecturer at the Zurich zoo and Clinic for zoo animals, exotic pets and wildlife at the University of Zurich.'
