Page 256 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
the Nepalese.
Located in the Kathmandu Valley at
Maharajung, the Section consisted of twenty-six personnel, twenty of them handlers. Their dogs came from Calcutta having been gifted either by the HK DASU RAVC or the British Transit camp at Dharan. The purpose-built kennel block was well made and housed the seventeen dogs on strength. The equipment being used was very similar to the Corps’, but the Section lacked transport, a factor which drastically impeded the training. Opera- tionally, the Section had been tasked to seventeen murders and eighteen instances of pick pocketing in the previous three years and had also completed over 150 VIP searches with AES dogs. The report by Sgt Ham went on to conclude that the Royal Nepal Police Dog Section was well organised and an efficient part of the Royal Nepal Police. The dogs trained within the Section were of a very high standard in all aspects, and Inspector Jaisee and his staff were congratulated on their accom- plishments.8
Lt Col Paul G H Jepson RAVC added his thoughts on the Section in Nepal when he contributed the following article Veterinary Support to Nepal to the November 1988 issue of Chiron Calling:
Best known for the Himalayas and Mount Everest, Nepal is also the home of the Gurkha soldier whose reputation for bravery and endurance is probably a reflection of the country’s terrain and climate. It varies from the blistering heat of the Indian border plain to the rarefied atmosphere of the highest mountain range in the world.
Nepal is a desperately poor country which depends on assistance from developed countries like Britain. The general poverty and deprivation of these proud people has to be seen to be believed. The average family income for a year is less than one week’s pay for a British private soldier. Agriculture is the main industry but despite having the highest population density of animals in the world, a staggering 40% of domesticated livestock is lost annually through malnutrition, parasitism, and infectious diseases. This waste of animals intended for food is a serious obstacle to the Government’s pledged target of providing adequate dietary intake for the human population. Although the target of 2,250 calories per day is a big improvement on the current state, it is barely adequate for men, women and children toiling the daylight hours on the land.
The Brigade of Gurkhas Agricultural Welfare Programme aims to help and educate ex-servicemen to increase the food production from their land. The RAVC in Hong Kong are ideally placed to provide professional
veterinary advice. Twice each year a Veterinary Officer visits the resettlement training farm at Dharan and tours a selection of the twenty-three Gurkha Welfare Centres advising on animal husbandry and farming techniques. However, ‘touring’ is a misleading description. In Nepal most travel is, out of necessity, on foot, and it can be three or four days’ trek through the mountains between the Centres. The type of problem encountered, and the advice given, varies from how to prevent ants raiding the honey from bee hives, to curing infertility problems in a herd of Buffalo. Sometimes problems are discussed retrospectively. On one occasion a problem with a breeding rabbit was resolved by a hungry tiger breaking into the compound and eating all the rabbits. In addition to the agricultural welfare work the visiting RAVC VO provides a range of assistance including a pets’ clinic in the grounds of the British Embassy in Kathmandu, assisting the Royal Nepal Police with their police dog training programme, and equitation advice to the Saddle Club in Dharan.
The Royal Nepal Police have a very impressive dog unit based in Kathmandu. The RAVC provided their initial dogs and with our continuing guidance they have built up their expertise. They now have an impressive list of arrests credited to the dogs who, as well as the multi-purpose police dog, are trained in a variety of specialties, including Tracking, and Drug, Arms, and Explosive search.
Nepal is a fascinating third world country where modern civilisation has yet to make a significant impact. The RAVC is privileged to be part of the assistance programme to this amazing country and the visits provide a challenging but rewarding experience for the Veterinary Officers, dog trainers and equitation instructors fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go.9
Zimbabwe – 1991
Zimbabwe, the country that can boast over five million hectares of parkland and the famous Victoria Falls – the widest waterfall in the world – which it shares with its neighbour, Zambia. In October 1991 the country held the Common- wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at the Harare International Conference Centre, an event attended by Her Majesty the Queen and other Heads of State, plus Government and Foreign Ministers from over forty-five Common- wealth countries. However, in July, just three months prior to the event, an IED detonated in the Sheraton Hotel – linked to the conference centre – causing substantial damage and creating an air of fear surrounding the up-coming Common-
8 HK DASU/200 B Liaison Visit Report dated 27th July 1988.
9 Chiron Calling November 1988. Veterinary Support to Nepal, by Lt Col Paul G H Jepson RAVC.
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