Vets Beyond Borders Australia

Volunteer veterinarians and veterinary nurses are required to travel to our Bylakuppe Rabies and Disease Control Programme in the forests of South India. This project is in partnership with the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and the Sera Mey Social Services. This is a unique opportunity to be part of the dog health programme in a restricted area of the South Indian highlands amongst a fascinating community of Tibetan Buddhist monks in one of the world’s largest monastic complexes. 

This dog sterilisation, health care and anti-rabies programme is planned to operate until end January 2012 and volunteers are needed to staff the clinic which is based at a human health centre. Accommodation* and some food will be provided in a comfortable guest house nearby. Volunteers are asked to stay for a minimum of two weeks, however longer stays are welcome and preferred.

Previous experience working in field camps in developing communities is preferred but not essential. Veterinarians require at least two years experience in small animal practice and proficiency in canine sterilisation surgeries. Veterinary Nurses require at least one year's experience in small animal practice with good anaesthesia knowledge and be able to perform general surgical and medical nursing tasks, place IV catheters, monitor and maintain IV anesthesia and assist in the training of local para-vets who will provide basic animal care.

Volunteers must have the ability to work in minimalist conditions and be adaptable. Good sense of humor and flexible, tolerant attitude to different cultural attitudes and beliefs is essential as is cooperative attitude and good team work.

In many ways the VBB Bylakuppe project is unique as it is situated for the moment within the area of a Tibetan monastery. Hence, we would like you to be aware of the following basic points when considering volunteering on this project:

• This is a no-kill project;
• For cultural reasons you will not be able to consume meat or alcohol onsite;
• Clothing should be discreet for both men and women;
• If you are with a partner please be very discreet in how you relate to each other in public;
• The monastery is a working university with schedules in operation, so while interaction with the monks here is a special feature of this project, this may be limited.

Please contact the Bylakuppe project co-ordinator if you have any further question on volunteering or the cultural/religious context of the project.

For more general information about volunteering with VBB please visit Volunteering. If you are interested in volunteering for this project and satsify the minimum requirements, please Register to volunteer.

Please note that you must be a VBB member to volunteer in our projects - Join Now.

* IMPORTANT READING for prospective volunteers on this project -- PROTECTED AREA PERMITS

Please note that in order for foreign volunteers to stay overnight at the project site at the Sera Mey Guesthouse, they must have a Protected Area Permit (PAP) issued by the Indian Govt. On applying to VBB to volunteer on this project we will ask you to submit, as soon as possible, a scan of the signed application form for a PAP, which we will send you. At this point we will also request good quality scans of both your main passport page and of a separate passport photo to accompany the form.

While there is no fee for applying for a PAP, it takes some considerable time (usually around three months but can be up to 6 months) to be processed by authorities in Delhi. Hence, it’s essential that volunteers apply for the PAP for the intended period of visiting Bylakuppe as soon as approximate dates for a visit are confirmed (and even if you change your mind later). Once approved, the PAP needs to be validated at the start of your visit at the local Bylakuppe Police Station, who will also require a photocopy of the applicant’s main passport page, a photocopy of Indian visa, and three passport-sized photos.

We suggest therefore that if you are considering volunteering for this project and wish to stay onsite, that you give as much lead time as possible in order for the PAP to have been approved in advance.

Before your departure from your home country, please enquire if your PAP has been approved and we can advise accordingly and if you need to make alternative arrangements for your accommodation. If you arrive on the project and your PAP has not been approved, you will need to spend your evenings in accommodation outside of Bylakuppe, probably in Kushalnagar town where there is a range of accommodation that we advise to be booked online well before arriving to ensure availability.

Please note that this off-site accommodation will be at volunteers’ expense, as will the small amount it costs to travel (for about 10 minutes) in a local auto rickshaw to and from the project (which should be 60-80 rupees each way (price as at September 2011).  

Once the PAP is approved, however, and the project administrator is informed of this, volunteers will be assisted in the local processing of the document and given free accommodation at the guesthouse onsite at the Monastery in Bylakuppe.