Please Help Us Save More Turtles By Training More Vets
 
Turtles are often considered flagship species for marine conservation. Wildlife Vets International is currently supporting vets and rehabilitation staff with training and advice at two Mediterranean flagship turtle rescue projects: the CRAM Foundation in Barcelona and the Archelon Rescue Centre in Athens. The Mediterranean is now recognised as a global hotspot for plastic pollution with of thousands of tonnes of plastic being dumped into the sea.
 
Can You Help Save Turtles From Deadly Ocean Plastics?
Shockingly, all the turtles that are admitted to the CRAM Foundation and the Archleon Rescue Centre have plastic in their guts. Some come in because their guts are blocked and they can’t process food. Others are entangled in marine plastics such as fishing nets and some come in with severe injuries caused, sometimes deliberately, by people.
The teams at these two marine rescue centres are passionate about helping injured turtles - but they are not specialists in turtle husbandry and medicine. We need to raise at least £15,000 to ensure we can help train staff and give them the vital veterinary skills needed to save more turtles.
 
One Donation, Twice The Impact
Last year, your generous donation helped Wildlife International Vets provide specialist veterinary expertise to vaccinate 1,500 domestic dogs in Africa against rabies and canine distemper. Thank you so much. The impact report can be read here.
 
This year our focus turns to the dangers turtles face from the rising levels of plastic in the ocean. Between 3-10 December every donation we receive via our Big Give donation page will be doubled. We have already secured £7,500 in pledged support waiting for matched donations.
 
A gift from you would be turtley awesome (desperate times call for desperate puns - I can only apologise).

If you want to know more about this incredible project and the wider impact of plastic in our Oceans please look at this document below:

Yesterday I received an anonymous threatening letter from 'CHS'. If you want to read it click on the file below.

Unfortunately, being anonymous, I was left with no way of replying (there is mention of a Facebook page but I don't do Facebook). So, I thought I'd reply here. I've never written a letter to a covert organisation before so I thought I'd just picture them as a middle aged couple with a 10 year old ginger cat called 'Justin'. They share common interests such as walks in the country (wearing balaclavas), cuddling on the sofa watching 'The Great British Bake Off' (wearing balaclavas) and writing threatening letters to people in their local community (whilst wearing balaclavas). Here goes...

Dear CHS,
Thank you for your letter. Unfortunately you seem to be barking up the wrong tree. Lancroft Developments Ltd are not the developers of Leonard Brothers Veterinary Centre and, as far as I can ascertain from speaking to the builders, have nothing to do with it.
Additionally, although it is called "Leonard Brothers", I am not, and never have been, a director or owner of the business. I just work there. What I do at the practice, alongside a fantastic team of vets, nurses and receptionists, is try and make a difference to the health and welfare of thousands of pets. It is emotionally demanding work but we love it. Do you cry at work? It happens a lot at a vets. We have a very high incidence of mental health issues and a devastating amount of suicides in our profession. A high stress job with huge responsibility and long hours. We deal with some of the worst moments in people's lives, holding their hands and giving hugs as they say good bye to their best friends. With two precious young children at home I'm not getting a great deal of sleep at the moment and what I don't need is this kind...
Ah, I seem to be getting a little emotional. Let's just put this down to a misunderstanding. I hope to see you and Justin at the practice, he's getting on a little now and he really needs his blood pressure testing (all cats over the age of 8 should have it measured at least once a year).
Kind regards, Steve Leonard

Channel 5's Big Week at the Zoo gave me a lovely opportunity this last week to showcase my passion for these wonderful dogs. I have been involved with Painted Dog Conservation for a number of years who are doing an amazing job in Zimbabwe.

Wildlife Vets International, another charity I am patron of, are working in conjunction with PDC to try and reduce the threats to the dogs and other wildlife running clinics for the domestic dogs that live around the National Park.

We desperately need funding to keep up this work so if you have a soft spot for these incredible  creatures please just chuck us a couple of quid at
https://secure.thebiggive.org.uk/pledge/wildlifevetsinternational

March 23rd 2018 is 'National Puppy Day' and this year I've teamed up with pet food manufacturer Forthglade to help with their campaign #PredForPup to raise awareness of just how many puppies are being bought with little preparation for their care. Taking a on a new puppy is incredibly exciting but can also be extremely daunting. Too often it turns out to be overwhelming and as many as 1 in 10 puppies are rehomed within a month of purchase.
Some pre-purchase preparation will make a huge difference to those initial stressful months of ownership and help make this new addition to your family a go a little smoother. Owning a dog is a real privilege and, as a vet, it's a privilege to help people with this special relationship. 

This month's picture is one of my favourites I've ever taken. Most of the time you see unbelievable wildlife photos, it's because the photographer has spent weeks out in the field waiting for the magic combination of light and subject. However, I was always working, getting in front of the lens and not behind it. Occasionally I would get 5 minutes just to snap a few photos of my own and this was one of those moments. It isn't perfect, the light wasn't hitting the walrus' eyes, but it was good enough for me!

I'm treading the boards this coming month giving a number of talks. One is to the Liverpool Veterinary Students which will be fun but I also have two public talks down South that you are very welcome to come along to. Both are for very good causes and feature other speakers I am really looking forward to hearing. 

Martin and I go way back. He was responsible for most of my most favourite adventures with wildlife. He was also responsible for a few of my near death experiences in extreme environments. We are talking together in aid of the PDSA who we are both very fond of. The event is a village near Winchester and tickets are available online.

This evening is a celebration and alarm call for one of the World's most iconic animals. All species of Rhino are under threat and without concerted effort we may lose them forever in our lifetime. This evening will feature a number of key players in this fight and discuss the diverse tactics required to break the chain of supply that starts with unnecessary slaughter.

I took this photo in the west of Mongolia while filming for a series called 'Beast Legends'. We had travelled out to this amazing country in December when the temperatures were hovering around the -20 degrees centigrade mark. The ground was like iron and the wind cut through you like a icy knife. I love wild open places and this was definitely wild and so open you really got a sense of just how small you were. I 'd love to go back in the Summer and see just how different it looks.

Well, another another year starts with the same resolution to update my website more frequently. Last couple of years have been busy - passed my BSAVA Certificate in Small Animal Internal Medicine with a distinction so very happy with that. Working as a vet, even 21 years in, is still my primary passion. I am very lucky to work in a fantastic team, in a wonderful practice.
However, few other things going on as well. I'm pencilled in to appear on 'Celebrity Pointless' as a pointless celebrity, and still doing a number of talks / appearances.

I will be appearing at the Caravan & Motorhome Show at Manchester's EventCity talking about my travel experiences - I do own a camper van so will take a sniff around I think.
See https://www.caravanshows.com/celebrity-speaker/steve-leonard-wildlife-tv-presenter-and-veterinary-surgeon for more information.

I am also going to try and post a calendar picture at the start of each month as I did a couple of years ago as someone so nicely asked me to do so again on Twitter. 

While filming "The Hottest Place on Earth" for the BBC in Ethiopia's Danakil Depression, we had to walk 25km in blazing heat. We had to stop and drink constantly and every so often a caravan of camels or donkeys would pass us by. They have a pretty hard life out there as beasts of burden but they were fit, had good feet and were not fat. This is quite the opposite of a lot of donkeys my wife sees as an equine vet driving around. Lush green grass and soggy soil did not feature often in the evolution of the donkey!

I have a couple of public talks coming up if your free...

"We're going to need a bigger glove! - Veterinary Tales from the Wild"
Beyond: 17th September 2016 - The Steppes Travel Festival
The ​Royal Geographical Society, London
http://www.steppestravel.co.uk/about/beyond-steppes-travel-festival/

So many people who watched the 'Panda Babies' program that recently went out on ITV have asked me about the sick panda who I helped examine during the program.
This bear had wandered into a village on the edge of the national park where she would have lived. She was obviously in a bad way. The bears are quite shy normally so it's a worrying sign when they stumble into human areas like this.
She was picked up by the authorities and brought to the rescue centre to be cared for. She had been in the care of the medical team for a month by the time I came to visit the centre. The veterinary team had examined her when she came in and were very concerned about the condition she was in. She was due another thorough check up and I was invited to be be involved which was a great honour for me.
I have been very fortunate to deal with many different species over the 20 years I have been a veterinary surgeon and it has been hammered into me, time and time again, just how important a physical exam is, during any investigation. Once asleep, I soon realised this bear was in serious trouble. She was skin and bone - this was so hard to get across purely visually. She had so little reserves left to keep her ailing body going. Her belly was fully of fluid which is a very bad sign indeed. I knew at this point that this bear was not long for this world. She was a very old bear (her worn down teeth were testimony to her age) whose body was finally succumbing to a hard life in the wild. Eyes, teeth, liver and other organs all were starting to fail. We we never told what happened to this bear (I was just a visitor after all), it's not nice to see but I'm afraid it is what will happen to all living creatures at some point if they are lucky enough to live a long life.
I am very touched by just how much concern people had for this poor creature who they only got a brief glimpse of. I can only assure you that she was getting excellent care from all that I could see.