Ilona Otter is a veterinarian from Finland with almost 20 years of experience in ABC-programs in India. Starting as a volunteer vet on field surgery clinics in the Nilgiris, operating dogs in army tents and out in the open, she now runs a veterinary surgical training program by Worldwide Veterinary Service since 2010. Professionally her main interests are in empowering veterinarians with good basic surgical skills, increasing awareness among veterinarians about antibiotic resistance and in developing ways on how to reach rabies vaccination to those dogs that would otherwise not get vaccinated. At home in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, she is surrounded by almost 300 rescued animals who live at Hill View Farm Animal Refuge with Ilona and her husband Nigel Otter and their two teenage daughters. During her free time she enjoys exploring dairy-free vegetarian recipes to cook for her family. 

Session Name
Breakaway Session- Tackling human-dog conflict through Animal Birth Control/Anti-Rabies Program

Session Date & Time (IST)
30th January 2022, 03:10 – 04:05 PM

Session Brief
Ms. Ilona Otter will talk about the successful ABC-AR programme led by WVS, and its impact on human dog conflicts; innovative ways of vaccinating, running education programs to improve dog rabies awareness in the local communities led by WVS. Additionally, we like you to touch upon the comprehensive and far reaching approach to curb the free- roaming dog population in India. You can also talk about the challenges you have faced, how you have overcome them, key learnings and introducing the training for vets that you have planned.