Health

In the last few decades, it has become increasingly evident that conservation, our own health, and the health of wild and domestic animals are all inextricably linked. A single pathogen can wipe out the last populations of an endangered species and, in turn, threaten the stability of local human populations. Thus there is an urgent need to simultaneously address the health of people and animals, recognizing that disease poses challenges to both conservation of the planet's biodiversity and efforts to improve the quality of human life.

Our Goal

Ensure the health of wildlife species around the globe and in our New York zoological parks.

Photo Credit: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

How will we get there?

Since our founding in 1895, WCS has harnessed our veterinary expertise to save wildlife and wild places around the globe. From intensively caring for endangered animals at our New York City zoos and aquarium, to aiding rural communities with livestock health, to monitoring the health status of elusive gorillas in the wild, WCS veterinarians, epidemiologists, and other health science professionals collectively represent an unparalleled constellation of capabilities.

Together, we employ three primary strategies:

  • Build local capacity to care for and protect the health of wildlife worldwide.
  • Gather and applying critically needed information to protect the health of wildlife, people, and domestic animals, all as underpinned by environmental stewardship.
  • Promote policies, guidelines, and best practices to ensure a healthy planet.

Why WCS?

WCS has been the pioneer in promoting wildlife health as critical to saving wildlife and wild places. We develop and implement solutions that achieve long-term conservation success and create a healthier world. By engaging partners across conservation, public health, agriculture, and beyond, we provide critical information that influences policy and action. WCS initiated and remains a leader in the One World – One Health™ interdisciplinary approach.

100 years

WCS has more than 100 years of hands-on veterinary work, disease surveillance, and groundbreaking scientific research to its name.

One Health Summit

Held on March 21, 2023, the event brought together global experts to discuss the interconnectedness of health and the importance of a One Health approach that includes an environmental perspective and collaborative plans to prevent new pandemics of zoonotic origin.

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