Winning bell rings for St Clement team in Mission Rabies tuk-tuk rally

A little local knowledge went a long way for the team from St Clement Veterinary Practice in winning the two-day Mission Rabies rally in Cornwall on 13 and 14 September.

The Truro-based practice led the field of six teams competing in a race around the scenic Roseland peninsula to raise money to support the charity’s efforts to eradicate canine rabies in southern Asia.

The teams drove around in the tuk-tuk motorcycle taxis that are ubiquitous in the cities of India, but are an exotic sight and sound in the leafy lanes of Cornwall.

Competitors had to use their wits and map-reading skills to locate a series of 26 checkpoints, where they stopped to record the details on their phones and work out clues on reaching the next port of call.

Local knowledge

Chris Gardner, owner of the St Clement practice acknowledged that his team’s familiarity with the winding lanes and high stone hedges of southern Cornwall did give them a head start over the other teams from other parts of the UK, and even further afield.

He said: “It was great fun driving around in the tuk-tuks, which are quite nippy and surprisingly manoeuvrable. But these lanes are very narrow and so that must have been something of a culture shock for some of the others – especially the team from the United States, when they are used to their road system.”

That American team was led by veterinary epidemiologist Ryan Wallace from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. They were in the UK to discuss rabies control strategies with Luke Gamble, the founder of Mission Rabies, and representatives from the World Health Organization, Dogs Trust and vaccine manufacturer MSD.

Dr Gamble plans to make the rally an annual event and has picked the dates for next year’s event – 10 to 13 September 2024. For anyone wanting to take part, details are available at www.rabiesrally.com.