Brooke vet wins animal welfare award
Dr Mactar Seck has been presented with a prestigious animal welfare award from the World Veterinary Association and CEVA for his veterinary work with equine welfare charity Brooke.
Mactar, Programme Manager for Brooke West Africa, was one of five vets in the world to be awarded the World Veterinary Animal Welfare Award during the World Veterinary Congress in Barcelona on 7 May 2018. Presented by the World Veterinary Association (WVA) and CEVA, the award highlights Mactar's outstanding achievements within the veterinary profession in Senegal and Burkina Faso.
A member of the Senegalese Council of Veterinarians since 1992, Mactar leads the Brooke West Africa team, based in Senegal, to train vets to improve their knowledge and skills in equine medicine. Mactar moved quickly within Brooke from Animal Welfare Officer to now managing the programme. He also trains local farriers in Senegal and helps them redesign tools, to ensure the hooves are balanced and equines can work free from pain or discomfort.
The judging panel was particularly impressed with Mactar's hard working attitude and professionalism.
I am very happy and very honoured. It was a team work; it was a team achievement. So I am very proud of my Brooke colleagues all over the world.
Mactar was filmed by the WVA as part of the award, taking part in one of Brooke's Animal Health Mentoring Framework courses. Brooke West Africa hosted vets from Ethiopia, Kenya, India and the U.K to share knowledge, experiences and expertise in animal welfare, and how to train others.
The Animal Health Mentoring Framework is a list of the skills and knowledge expected of animal health practitioners, as well as the essential medicines and equipment required to deliver basic animal health services. It is part of efforts from Brooke not to provide veterinary treatment themselves, but instead train local practitioners who in many cases are already operating in areas Brooke works in, but have limited abilities.
In Senegal and around the world, Brooke works with owners, communities, service providers, governments and international organisations to make long lasting improvements to the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules, and their owners.