KWPLH, East Kalimantan, Borneo
Veterinary help needed in Indonesian Borneo
Help improve animal welfare in Indonesia by sharing your skills and experience!
Facility and Program Description:
Kawasan Wisata Pendidikan Lingkungan Hidup (KWPLH) is an environmental education centre located in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. The facility’s goal is to increase environmental awareness and animal welfare. In addition to our animal programmes, the facility has several education buildings, picnic areas and playgrounds. To see a full description of the KWPLH’s facilities and goals visit www.beruangmadu.org or email us.
KWPLH provides a wonderful accommodation in the form of a forested enclosure for 6 sun bears rescued from the illegal pet trade. Sun bears are the mascot of Balikpapan, and many of our current education programs focus on this species.
Our Domestic Animal Program was created in response to the frequent dumping of kittens/puppies at KWPLH. We have attempted to establish a safe home for abandoned animals and a sterilization and adoption program. We currently have 110+ cats under our care as well as close to 30 dogs, and occasionally take care of other rescued wildlife species whenever brought to the centre (macaque, civets, slow loris, birds).
The goals of our Domestic Animal Program are:
- Educate visitors in proper pet care including the promotion of pet sterilization;
- Discourage to keeping of wildlife (sun bears, orangutans etc.) as pets by highlighting the difference between wild and domestic animals;
- Ensure the welfare of the cats and dogs within the environs of KWPLH;
- Provide free sterilization programmes for community pets and stray animals, prioritizing animals living in the vicinity of the centre;
Experienced Volunteer Vet Needed
We are in need of experienced veterinarians to assist with training and development of our local animal care team. The primary goal is to further train up our team [specifically our local veterinarian] in specialist medical care for our animals, under more or less challenging conditions, and to train our Indonesian animal care-taking staff in mastering necessary skills and knowledge on specialist issues that need frequent treatments.
Other tasks include ideas on improvement of our medical administration and records, enrichment and training programs, and enhancing our adoption programme. There will be work with the sun bears and other wild species, but most time will go to our domestic animals and staff training.
Outlined below is a list of topics that we need help with:
- Training on [preventative] care of key medical issues afflicting animals in our target area of work;
- Assist with health checks, monitoring of sick animals, and preventive medicine;
- Provide training to our local team in mastering key vet skills, including but not limited to: safe and effective holds, injection techniques (s.c., i.m., and i.v.), animal handling, sterilization of tools, anaesthesia administration and monitoring, clinic administration, first aid, etc;
- Efficient animal care database management and administration:
- Assist with daily animal care, including feeding and cleaning;
- Assist with dog training and training our local animal staff;
- Assist bear keepers in treatment of sun bear medical issues;
- Assist with improvement of enrichment programs for domestic animals, sun bears and other wildlife occasionally taken care of at the centre;
For more details about KWPLH and the veterinary position please email us!
We welcome the help from professional veterinarians in 2025. The position is preferably for 3+ months, but do e-mail us as well if you are available for shorter periods. Free housing is provided at the centre, but a small local catering fee is required for meals. A volunteer visa will need to be applied for at a small cost. Couples are also welcome to apply.
Please send end questions and resumes to Gabriella Fredriksson:
gabriella.fredriksson@gmail.com
For further information visit our website: www.beruangmadu.org or www.pronaturafoundation.org