Airdate: Scottish Vets Down Under

Observational series Scottish Vets Down Under, featuring Dr Chris Allison and Dr Mike Whiteford at Bendigo Animal Hospital, premieres on ABC next month.

The 12 x 30 min series is produced by Australia’s WildBear Entertainment. This has already screened on BBC Scotland.

Scottish vet’s Dr Chris Allison and Dr Mike Whiteford are best friends who’ve traded life in the heart of Scotland for the bushlands of Australia. They’ve established their own practices in the rural community of Bendigo – Dr Chris looks after the smaller animals while Dr Mike specialises in horses.

In this first episode of the series, Dr Chris treats one of Australia’s most iconic birds, the wedge tailed eagle. Local wildlife rescuer Neil has found the eagle sitting in an open field and unable to fly. There are no obvious signs of a wing fracture, but Dr Chris wants an x-ray to be certain. It comes back all clear which still leaves the mystery of why the bird can’t get airborne.

With over 350 mammal species native to Australia, Dr Chris regularly seeks out experts to increase his knowledge for when emergencies arise. He brings Dr Mike along on his field trip to the Kyabram Fauna Park to learn more about Koalas. Park manager, Lachlan, talks about the health concerns facing this tree-dwelling marsupial, particularly the life- threatening disease of chlamydia. The two Scottish vets also get a close appreciation of the many natural attributes of this Australian icon.

8pm Thursday October on ABC.