Prof Simon Girling - Reintroducing native species

Welcome to the next episode of The Animal Welfare Conversation. This week we are joined by Prof Simon Girling. Simon has worked with zoological collections for the past 15 years, and has been involved with many different reintroduction programmes in Scotland and across the UK. In this episode we find out what it takes to successfully reintroduce a species.

The Scottish Beavers Reinforcement Project | BIAZA

Scottish Beavers | Beaver reintroduction | Scottish Wildlife Trust

Saving Wildcats | Scottish wildcat conservation and recovery | Saving Wildcats

Cairngorms Connect | News Item

 

Prof Simon Girling

Simon worked in general practice and government before focussing on zoological medicine. He was awarded the RCVS Certificate in Zoological Medicine in 1999 and the Diploma in Zoological Medicine (Avian) in 2002 and RCVS Specialist status in 2003 being the first vet in the country to obtain the avian specialism.

In 2012 he became the first vet in the UK to be awarded European Veterinary Specialist in Zoo Health Management and was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2016 for Meritorious Contributions to Practice

Simon is a past president of the British Veterinary Zoological Society and the European College of Zoological Medicine and set up the first UK veterinary residency training position in 2013 that leads to EU recognition as a veterinary specialist in Zoo Health Management. He currently advises the UK and Devolved Governments on animal welfare, both captive and wild through his work on a number of committees including DEFRA's Zoo Experts Committee (which he has chaired since 2018), DEFRA's Animal Welfare Committee and the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission.

​​Simon recently completed a PhD focussing on the reintroduction of the Eurasian Beaver to the UK and has worked on many different reintroduction programmes including water voles, wildcats and pine hover flies.

He lectures widely in the UK and Europe on many different aspects of zoological medicine, both to vets and veterinary nurses and has written widely on this subject, including the core text for veterinary nurses on exotics - 'Veterinary Nursing of Exotic Pets' now in its 2nd edition (3rd edition out in April 2025).