‘My day job now is a complete contrast to most of my career’

Hicks 1

In 2009, I self-indulgently took off to Borneo to undertake a two-month (non-veterinary) voluntary opportunity working with rescued orangutan, a creature that had held my fascination since I was at school in Singapore. 

I was completely enraptured; these intelligent primates were intriguing, charismatic and a joy to be near. The opportunity resurrected my early career dream of working with wildlife, but after eight weeks I had to return to work in practice in Cornwall. 

Two months later, without warning, a UK charity offered me the position of temporary veterinary surgeon at the orangutan rescue centre in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

With some degree of self-doubt I questioned my qualifications. Reassurance came from a wildlife vet who told me: ‘If you can arrive on a farm and accomplish whatever you need to do with only what you have in your car boot you will be fine working with wildlife in remote areas.’ 

First-principle medicine is very adaptable and, with the confidence of more than a few years of practice behind me and some speed reading, there was no question as to which direction my life would now take. 

'A job with real purpose delivers huge satisfaction and a sense of achievement'

The advice I had been given proved to be very astute and I found that it was possible to work without what we all consider everyday essentials (radiography, gaseous anaesthesia, laboratory back up, and so on). Now, when I get asked for tips on how to ‘get into wildlife’, my advice is not to rush, but to get a good grounding in general practice – first-principle medicine can be applied to many species. 

Sepilok in Sabah became home for my wife, Sara, and me for at least six months of every year between 2009 and 2013, thanks largely to the generosity of the partners at Castle Veterinary Group in Launceston who retained my services as a locum for the remaining unpredictable and variable six months of each year when we returned to the UK. Wildlife work brings satisfaction but little payment, so locum work subsidised our tropical escapades.

Although not a vet nurse, Sara has a wealth of experience with animals and had worked in my practice for years – we work well as a team. In Sabah, we were thrown in at the deep end and found ourselves with the sole veterinary care of more than 50 orangutans. We were on a rapid learning curve, but with the help of the local Malaysian staff, we soon acquired knowledge of the orangutan and gained huge satisfaction from a job with real purpose, and which delivered a sense of accomplishment. 

Hicks 3

Nigel and Sara work well as a team

We were also called on to care for sun bears, elephants, pangolins, reticulated pythons, macaques, leaf monkeys, birds and even a large crocodile. We revelled in our new-found paradise, a world away from home. 

Our work involved visits to Indonesia, where the situation for orangutans was far worse than we had realised. Sabah was already dominated by palm oil plantations, but in Indonesian Borneo, deforestation was continuing at breakneck speed. With the loss of 80 per cent of their habitat, orangutan were being pushed closer and closer to human habitation with the resulting inevitable conflict. 

There is no government assistance for rehabilitation of the species in Indonesia and it was evident how severely short of facilities most of the dedicated veterinary teams were. This was illustrated graphically when we visited a new graduate vet with responsibility for managing two orangutan rescue teams. When I asked him to show me his clinic and facilities, he produced a small backpack with a single bottle of antibiotic, a few syringes and some sundry items. This incident served as a catalyst; Sara and I could see an opportunity to help. 

Setting up OVAID

In 2014, we established the charity Orangutan Veterinary Aid (OVAID), www.ovaid.org, to provide medicines, equipment and assistance directly to the veterinary teams of the rescue and rehabilitation centres. 

Over the next four years, we spent six months of each year working with orangutan rescue centres in Borneo and Sumatra, and the remainder of the year was spent fundraising and developing commercial ties for the charity with UK veterinary suppliers.

The veterinary industry in the UK has been hugely supportive, with companies like JAK Marketing in York providing ongoing and generous contributions to our cause. Since 2014 we have managed to donate more than £250,000 of medicines and equipment, together with professional training in situ.

Our charity not only provides practical assistance, but has established a UK-based scholarship to provide specialist training for Indonesian veterinarians. Charity work now takes up a considerable amount of our time.

As the charity continues to grow, a typical day might find me sitting at my desk in Cornwall or 7000 miles away in Asia, where every day brings variety. This can involve anything from a battle of wits in trying to persuade a dissenting orangutan to take your offering of intricately disguised medication, to charging a blowpipe dart to anaesthetise a 100 kg fractious alpha male, or perhaps taking tracheal wash samples for tuberculosis diagnosis. 

Differentiating between tropical diseases can be a challenge and there are traumatic wounds, orthopaedic and dental cases to deal with too – all with the frisson of being face to face with one of the most intelligent and mischievous creatures on the planet. 

The enjoyment of working with a charismatic species, understanding tropical diseases, exploring cultural differences and the fun of learning a new language bring new dimensions and motivations to my job. 

There are, of course, risks dealing with wild animals, but procedures are carefully adhered to and the slight element of danger – combined with a somewhat refreshing absence of petty bureaucracy and health and safety – brings a long-missed pleasure and satisfaction to the job.

Hicks 2

Nigel and Meuthya, an Indonesian vet, transfer a sedated young orangutan to the clinic for a routine health check

SARS-Cov-2 challenges

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has of course brought new challenges. OVAID relies on personal visits to Indonesia to transport donations of equipment and to provide in-situ assistance and training. These have been curtailed as travel was discontinued and, even now, the orangutan rescue centres remain closed to researchers and visitors. 

To date, none of the orangutan being cared for in rescue centres in Indonesia has been diagnosed with Covid-19, largely due to the rapid and careful response of the veterinary teams in charge of their welfare. 

Reflections

Our professional qualification places us in a unique position and we should value this. Appreciate your versatility, steer your career course and, whatever you do, grasp the opportunities that luck provides.

My day job now is a complete contrast to most of my career and perfectly illustrates the advantages that our professional qualification endows us with. 

My time as a vet has brought me joy and sadness, satisfaction and despair, incredible highs and sometimes the deepest lows, diversity, travel and a greater understanding of what makes people and animals ‘tick’. 

Our new graduates are arguably better qualified than ever before, but they face huge expectations, challenges and pressures; posts on social media sites sadly reflect this.

'Have direction, but find time to pursue your dreams'

Sharing worries with colleagues and confidants makes a huge difference to mental wellbeing, as Sara and I have found. Often, in difficult and stressful times in remote areas, when one of us has felt the weight of responsibility heavy on our shoulders, the support of the other has pulled us through. 

At a time when a proportion of new graduates appear to be reconsidering their choice of profession, I would urge them to reflect on four things:

­

  • Never underestimate your worth or potential. The training we receive and the qualifications we achieve are inimitable and endow us with a unique set of skills.
  • Share your concerns and worries. You are not alone – you may be surprised how many others have similar issues and will be able to offer supportive, constructive solutions.
  • ­Gain good, broad general experience in a welcoming practice after qualifying. These basic, practical skills in medicine, surgery and client communication will last forever and may open unexpected opportunities later.
  • Your career path may be winding – you will almost certainly not end up doing what you originally anticipated as an undergraduate, so don’t be afraid to change direction. Grasp opportunities and be flexible, but time is precious, don’t waste it. Have direction, but find time to pursue your dreams. Motivation is the adversary of disillusionment.

OVAID is eager to accept donations of surplus items from UK veterinary surgeries, email info@ovaid.org for more information.

Nigel's CV 

1973: Qualified from Bristol vet school
1973: General practice in Cornwall 
1979: Established sole charge, first-opinion practice in Devon 
2003: General practice in Cornwall
2009: Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo 
2014: International Animal Rescue Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, West Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia
2014–present: Co-founder and CEO Orangutan Veterinary Aid charity
2016: Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Medan, north Sumatra
2017: Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and other charities

Back to Categories