Page 47 - Eclipse - Autumn/Winter 2024
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CLASSNOTES



              David Jones:

              Born to be Wild






                     r David Jones (BVetMed       circus elephants from the grounds of
                     1969) is a prominent figure in   Windsor Castle, he has been a board
                     zoo veterinary medicine and   member of several notable organisations,
             Dmanagement. His work has            such as The World Wildlife Fund USA  David, with the help of Dave Morgan and
              significantly advanced the care and   & UK, Fauna and Flora International   Georgina Allen, to found Wild Welfare in
              conservation of wild animals, having   and over 50 years with The Brooke,   2012. This is now a registered UK charity,
              dedicated over 50 years to the wildlife   now as their Vice President.   unique in its work to improve the welfare for
              and zoo management fields and played   During his time as director of the    wild animals living in captivity across the globe.
              a notable role in wildlife welfare and   North Carolina Zoo, he utilised his many   David’s career is a testament to the power
              conservation efforts globally.
                                                  connections to found the NC Zoo and   of passion, innovation, and leadership
              Born into a family of sheep and cattle   Zoo Society African field programmes,   in advancing both animal welfare and
              farmers, David developed a passion for   which are rapidly expanding and are now   conservation. His work within these fields has
              all things natural from an early age, which   working on other continents.   not only helped to elevate standards of care
              led to the pursuit of a career in veterinary   David remains a vocal advocate for   but has also contributed to the global effort
              medicine. After qualifying from the   animal welfare, focusing on highlighting   to care for and protect animals in captivity.
              RVC in 1969, he began his career as   the importance of high standards of   Through his tireless dedication, David has
              the first full time Veterinary Officer at    care, whatever the species, within the   ensured that Wild Welfare’s legacy will
              ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.
                                                  zoo, sanctuary, aquarium and welfare   continue in the thriving lives of the animals
              It was a role that David had pursued   communities. This passion is what led  the organisation so devotedly serves.
              proactively even prior to graduating, as the
              vacancy had been advertised six months
              before that. However, he had taken the
              opportunity to connect with the then
              Curator of Whipsnade, Victor Manton, and
              that successful connection resulted in the
              role being kept open until David qualified
              His early work at Whipsnade laid
              the foundation for a remarkable career
              dedicated to wildlife health and
              conservation. David was an early
              pioneer of immobilising dart and
              drug technology for species where
              there was no existing literature.
              Throughout his career, David has made
              significant contributions to a multitude
              of zoological, welfare and conservation
              projects. ZSL’s Department of
              Conservation and Consultancy,
              which he founded, remains a major part
              of ZSL’s activities. After five successive
              roles in ZSL, leading to his becoming
              their CEO, he eventually moved to the
              relatively young North Carolina Zoo as
              their Director, expanding and refurbishing
              many of their exhibits and establishing a
              wide range of new programmatic areas,
              both in country and globally.
              In addition to his veterinary and then
              managerial work, which ranged from
              overseeing both ZSL zoos and their
              overseas consultancies to extracting
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