Future is bright, says orang-utan vet celebrating 50 years 

Five successful decades in the profession has meant no monkeying around for an orang-utan vet whose fate took him to the wild side.

Graduating from the University of Bristol Veterinary School in the 1970s, Nigel Hicks has just celebrated an illustrious 50 years in the business – and encourages other vets to grasp the future.

After joining a practice in Launceston as his first job, Dr Hicks became a practice owner in Devon in 1979, selling in 2003 with a plan to work part-time, abandon night rotas and retire gracefully. However, his career took a sideways step – 7,000 miles away from rural Cornwall.

Malaysia

In 2009, Dr Hicks spent six weeks volunteering at an orang-utan rehabilitation centre in Malaysian Borneo, which proved to be a life-changing move.

A few weeks after returning home, Dr Hicks received an unexpected email inviting him to return to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre as the sole veterinary surgeon caring for more than 50 of the apes and he did not look back.

Dr Hicks worked almost exclusively with orangutan for 14 years, spending several months at a time working with rescue and rehabilitation centre veterinary teams in Borneo and Sumatra.

With no financial support for the rescue and rehabilitation of these animals, the emergency equipment available to orang-utan vets is very limited. Realising an opportunity to help, Dr Hicks and his wife, Sara, established Orangutan Veterinary Aid (OVAID) in 2014 and Dr Hicks waved goodbye to his retirement.

Medicine donations

OVAID has delivered an estimated £400,000 of medicines and equipment to more than 25 wildlife rescue organisations in Indonesia and Malaysia with the help of fellow vets and the generosity of vet practices and veterinary suppliers in the UK.

The charity has also focused on training and backup for newly graduated and inexperienced wildlife vets with scholarships and practical workshops.

Dr Hicks said: “Fifty years have not dented my enthusiasm for a profession that may be currently troubled, but which has given me so many unseen opportunities and an ability to assist in what may be niche areas, but, nevertheless, to bring about some impact.

“There can be nothing worse than sitting back and declaring, in a resigned voice, that nothing can be done, that there is no future. The future is out there, grasp it today.”

For further information, visit the OVAID website.