Mobile Elephant Veterinary Unit
In addition to providing quality veterinary care for the elephants living at its sanctuary, Green Hill Valley (GHV) offers free mobile veterinary services to elephants living in captivity throughout Myanmar for whom such care is not available.
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In August of 2017, GHV established its Mobile Elephant Veterinary Unit (MEVU). MEVU includes a team of professional elephant veterinarians, a 24/7 “Help My Elephant Hotline," and a 4WD truck stocked with veterinary supplies and equipment.
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Funds raised through the “Everything Elephants” adventure travel program will support the MEVU.
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GHV dispatches its MEVU team throughout Myanmar, providing hands-on emergency and routine medical treatment, educating elephant owners and mahouts, facilitating and supporting medical record-keeping, and raising public awareness about humane elephant care and management. Their work serves to upgrade the status and skills of mahouts—the hard-working people whose daily interactions with elephants are key to sustaining good elephant health and welfare.
The majority of Myanmar’s captive elephants (and their owners/mahouts) are located in remote, rural areas, including the country’s dangerous insurgent regions. The MEVU team travels as far afield as local and regional permits will allow. Securing permits is always a challenge and requires the establishment of good working relationships throughout the country.
Chief Green Hill Valley veterinarian, Sayar Ba.
Vitamins injection for retired elephant (privately owned), part of regular monthly check up.
Coordinating an MEVU trip to Eastern and Northern Shan State.
Chief Green Hill Valley veterinarian, Sayar Ba.
DOUBLE-CLICK on slideshow above to enlarge photos and read captions about Green Hill Valley's
Mobile Elephant Veterinary Unit.
Helping Elephants and the People Who Care for Them
Supporting MEVU ~ Saving Elephants
GHV wishes to expand its MEVU reach and impact throughout Myanmar to better serve the health and welfare needs of the country’s elephants. Expansion of MEVU's life-saving is a signifiant challenge for GHV, however, given Myanmar's current economy, which has experienced a significant decline in tourism in recent years. GHV depends on ecotourism to support its operations.
Funds raised through the “Everything Elephants” adventure travel program will support the MEVU project in 2019 and beyond, helping GHV:
(1) Purchase vaccinations, deworming, and other medications, vitamins and supplements, first aid supplies, formula milk for baby elephants, and foot care tools, etc.; and
(2) Provide routine and emergency medical treatment, foot care, wound/infection treatment, and nutritional, enrichment, and other health and welfare advice and services.