This month, members of our Streatham Hill Vets team joined the Rabies Rally for the third time, an unforgettable three-day adventure racing tuk tuks through the stunning Cornish countryside… all in support of a global mission to eliminate rabies by 2030.
If you’ve never heard of the Rabies Rally, think of it as part madcap adventure, part veterinary think tank, and part life-saving fundraiser.
It’s a unique event that brings together vets, nurses, charities, researchers, and vaccine companies from around the world, not just to race tuk tuks (although that’s great fun!) but to learn, share ideas, and strengthen the global fight against rabies.
🧠 More Than Just a Race
Alongside the off-road action and the friendly competition, the Rabies Rally includes educational lectures, panel discussions, and roundtable sessions led by some of the world’s leading voices in rabies prevention and One Health.
This year, we were proud to join roundtables with teams from WVS, Mission Rabies, CEVA, MSD, Dogs Trust, and even the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Together, we explored practical strategies to beat a disease that, despite being one of the deadliest in the world, often goes under the radar in public health conversations.
Our Rally Teams
This year, two teams from the DNA Vetcare and SHVS family took part:
- Team 1: Lucy (formerly a nurse at Streatham Hill), Will (vet at Streatham Hill), and Ewen (one of our Kent vets)
- Team 2: Radu (Mead Vet), Shan (admin team), and Dane (Clinical Director of SHVS)
🎉 We’re delighted to share that one of our DNA Vetcare teams won the rally! 🏆But the real victory is in the impact and how we are bringing more awareness, funding, and energy to the goal of ending rabies deaths worldwide.
❗ Why Rabies Still Matters
Rabies is one of the most fatal diseases known as once symptoms appear, it’s almost always deadly. Shockingly, a child still dies from rabies every 9 minutes somewhere in the world.
Even more heartbreaking is that over 99% of these cases are caused by bites from unvaccinated dogs – something that is entirely preventable with the right resources and education.
Mission Rabies is Fighting Back
Founded by Luke Gamble and supported by Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), Mission Rabies works across countries like India, Malawi, Tanzania, Cambodia, Ghana, and Thailand to:
- 💉 Vaccinate hundreds of thousands of dogs
- 🧒 Educate children and communities on how to avoid and report bites
- 🩺 Train local vets and provide mobile clinics in underserved areas
It’s ambitious. It’s relentless. And it’s working.
When you hear Luke Gamble and the WVS team speak about their mission – full of passion, scientific insight, and a kind of infectious (excuse the pun) enthusiasm you quickly realise that you’d be daft to bet against them.
💛 Our Role, And Yours
Here at Streatham Hill Vets, we’ve proudly supported WVS, Mission Rabies, and Care for Dogs in Thailand since 2011. And we couldn’t do it without you, our loyal and generous clients.
Thanks to your support, we’ve raised over £20,000 through:
- 🏊♂️ Sponsored swims
- 🎟️ Fundraisers and raffles
- 💉 Our new initiative donating 50p from every vaccine and consultation
We’ve also sent team members abroad to Thailand, Cambodia, and India to help deliver vaccines, educate school children, and work alongside local vets and volunteers – all in the spirit of One Health.
🌍 Why It Matters
Every vaccine you bring your pet in for, every donation you’ve given, every fundraising event you’ve supported, it all plays a part in saving lives across the globe.
You’re helping protect children. You’re helping protect dogs. You’re helping create a world where rabies is a thing of the past.
And you’re helping our team stay connected to the bigger picture, reminding us that veterinary care doesn’t stop at our clinic doors. It reaches across borders, across species, and into the heart of global health.
From All of Us at SHVS… Thank You
Whether you’ve donated, supported our team, shared a post, or simply brought your pet in for a vaccine, you’ve made a difference, and we are so grateful.
If you’d like to learn more about the work of Mission Rabies and WVS, visit:
👉 www.missionrabies.com
👉 www.wvs.org.uk
Together, we’ll keep racing, fundraising, learning and working towards a world free from rabies.
