PRESS RELEASE

Ends:

Issued by Wildlife Information Network, The Royal Veterinary College, London

For further information please contact:

Iain Boardman: +44 (0)207 388 7003 or E-mail: iboardman@wildlifeinformation.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The 61st Annual Conference of World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is being held 28-31 August 2006 at Leipzig Zoo.
2. The Elephants: Diseases and Treatment volume was funded by Twycross Zoo, Chester Zoo and Wildlife Information Network and supported by Balcombe Trust, British Airways, Dennis Curry Charitable Trust, Great North Eastern Railway, Marsh Christian Trust, and The Royal Veterinary College. The cover image shows a wild bull African elephant. Photograph by © Scotch Macaskill - www.wildlife-pictures-online.com
3. The Wildlife Information Network (WIN) is a charity dedicated to making information on the health and management of captive and free-ranging wild animals, and emerging infectious diseases, available to wildlife professionals and decision-makers worldwide. WIN was set up in 1992 and became a registered UK charity (No. 1048059) in 1995. The Wildlife Information Network is also registered as a US Not-for-Profit organisation.
4. Wildpro^® Multimedia is the software developed and used by WIN to provide information on re-emerging infectious diseases and the health and management of captive and free-ranging wild animals on its Electronic Encyclopaedia and Library. It is a living document, with new information being added constantly through the development of new modules. It is researched, developed and published by WIN to provide information to decision-makers worldwide, and users include wildlife managers, researchers, government officials, veterinarians, field biologists, zoologists, laboratory diagnosticians, zoological collections, conservation and welfare organisations, universities, and students of a wide variety of disciplines. Information is made available on the Internet and by CD-ROMs.

WIN CD-ROMs currently available:

• West Nile Virus
• Wildlife: Disease Investigation and Management (Birds)
• Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer and Elk
• Hedgehogs: Health and Management
• Pain Management In Ruminants
• Waterfowl: Health and Management
• Foot-and-Mouth Disease
• Wildlife: First Aid and Care
• Wildlife: Oil Spill Response

5. Twycross Zoo - East Midland Zoological Society is a registered charity No. 501841 and aims to "care for our world's animals and environments through conservation, communication and integrity". Twycross Zoo has the world's largest collection of primate species with over 500,000 visitors per year. Twycross has informal and formal education programmes for all sectors of society about wildlife conservation. We incorporate our animals wherever possible into regional and global breeding programmes to aid species conservation. We have developed environmental enrichment programmes to give our animals a fulfilled life, both physically and mentally.
   www.twycrosszoo.com
6. Chester Zoo – North of England Zoological Society – is a registered charity No 306077 whose mission is to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide. Chester Zoo contributes significantly to the protection of species and habitat through a combination of field and zoo-based conservation.
   Chester Zoo currently runs or supports over 100 conservation projects in the UK and worldwide. These include a NEZS directed programme aimed at solving human-elephant conflict in Assam through both long term research into patterns of conflict and the development of mitigation methods.
   Our vision of a diverse, thriving and sustainable world is shown by our recently winning the Queen's Award for Sustainable Development, this reflecting our strong commitment to environmental care.
   www.chesterzoo.org
7. Image of a wild bull African elephant available upon request, subject to copyright being credited. CD-ROM image also available.