Published: 06 Mar 2020 | Last Updated: 06 Mar 2020 11:26:14

Every year, students from the Royal Veterinary College Boat Club (RVCBC) take on a fundraising challenge by completing an ergathon.

The ergathon – an event where members of the team complete a distance on rowing machines – welcomed various participants, including students, staff and alumni of the RVC to row a section of the 100km target.

After the 12-hour relay on the rowing machine, the amazing team managed to row almost 160km! A total of £613.37 pounds was raised with an additional £500 matched by the Animal Care Trust.

Half of the donations raised are being donated to WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue. The issue of the Australian wildfires has been highly discussed amongst students and staff at the RVC and the Animal Care Trust team, who all have the same gravitation towards animal health and welfare. In an attempt to help organisations on the ground in Australia, the Boat Club decided to dedicate this year’s ergathon to WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue who provide national emergency support to assist other groups working with wildlife in addition to their own rescues.

The other half of the money raised will help fund the purchase of a new woman’s 8+ boat. The RVC Boat Club has slowly become more competitive over the years, competing and entering more races than ever before. The new boat will encourage more students to get involved in physical activity and extracurriculars – a key part of promoting better physical and mental health amongst the vets, nurses and students of the future.

Thanks to your help we are able to improve the treatment and care of animals through our clinical practices, education and research at the Royal Veterinary College. Please donate to our ongoing work and make a difference to the thousands of pets and animals we care for each year.