At a symposium organised by the Vadodara Veterinary Society and the Gujarat Livestock Development Board on Saturday, over 340 veterinaries from across the state discussed issues like the Emergency Critical Care and rescue operation of animals.

With dearth of equipment and proper facilities, most veterinary doctors feel handicapped in emergency situations. At the annual symposium, the vets discussed the latest techniques on animal rescue that should be incorporated in emergency situations.

“Due to lack of staff, we face a lot of problems even while treating domestic animals. Also, newer techniques and latest methods are necessary for proper diagnosis of these animals,” said R D Patel, president of Vadodara Veterinary Society.

The veterinaries also discussed the lack of research in this field.

“The forest department has only four vets, whereas ideally every wildlife sanctuary and national park should have one. Although there is a scope of research on domestic animals, the wildlife is a completely neglected field,” said R G Jani, a vet from Anand Veterinary Hospital and Wildlife Health Coordinator of Western zone, appointed by the Government of India.

He added: “It is only during such accidents or mass epidemic that the forest department wakes up to its complete lack of preparedness. The rescue of the leopard took hours as the department did not have basic amenities like ropes, cages, darts and tranquillisers.”

The symposium was also attended by animal experts from across the country, who discussed newer techniques and equipment like CT scans, which should be incorporated in animal care.