兽医培训师银枝娟获奖

Meet Dr Yin. She is one of 15 trainers who work to promote our Train the Trainer programme in collaboration with Vets for Compassion, Australia.

 

Dr Yin’s veterinary expertise is having an incredible influence on both the profession and on pet-owners in China. Train the Trainer is a programme that works through the ripple effect of teaching volunteer veterinary trainers the techniques they need for humane, good practice in their surgeries. In turn, these vets go on to train many other veterinarians in a variety of locations, therefore spreading critical education to improve the welfare of animals who receive treatment.

Dr Yin’s efforts have recently been recognised by the World Veterinary Association and Ceva and in May 2018, she received a well-deserved award for her contribution to animal welfare and protection.

Dr Yin is a professional who has worked tirelessly to promote the welfare of animals, both in her role as veterinary trainer and independently. She has explained and advocated the use of anaesthetic and analgesia to colleagues and pet owners, promoted the basic welfare needs of sentient beings, and has vaccinated many pets against rabies free of charge.

Congratulations, Dr Yin – a well-deserved accolade!

“I have worked with stray animal organisations applying TNR (Trap Neuter Release) to local stray animals. I hope in this way the government will understand that it’s feasible to control the number of stray animals with the help of sterilisation.” Dr Yin

Dr Yin demonstrates techniques on the surgery table

It’s common for veterinary surgeries in Asia to be well-equipped, but vets don’t always know how to use their tools

Train the Trainer includes lectures as well as practical training

How Dr Yin came to veterinary practice

“One day when I was 13 years old, I came home from school and was told that our dog had died. I burst into tears and my family was puzzled. They couldn’t understand why I was so sad.

I grew up in rural China, where my family, like so many others, believed a dog’s purpose was to guard the home. In return, we gave her food, and very little else. The family didn’t give her a name, but when I called her, she came to me. Dogs were not welcome in the home, so she stayed outside. When your dog died, you simply bought a new one.

The spirit of our nameless dog followed me through my childhood, and eventually propelled me to veterinary school. Like most other students, I was taught only farm animal medicine to support a safe, abundant supply of meat. The care of companion animals in China was almost unheard of.

But things are changing now, partly because of the veterinary training programme run by ACTAsia and Vets for Compassion (VFC). We learn that it is not enough to treat physical symptoms, we have an obligation to teach an awareness that animals are sentient beings, who have needs and feelings.

While this concept may be self-evident in some societies, it is not taught in Chinese veterinary schools, even today. Indeed I learnt it at my first training session with ACTAsia and Vets For Compassion (VFC). I’m proud to be part of a programme that trains more and more vets, who spread ripples of compassion further and further into China.”