Hugh John Wirth was an Australian veterinarian and animal welfare advocate in Victoria, Australia.
11 Facts About Hugh Wirth
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Hugh Wirth graduated from the University of Queensland with a degree in veterinary science.
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Hugh Wirth commenced work as an associate veterinary practitioner at Drouin veterinary surgery, from 1964 to 1965.
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Hugh Wirth took over the Balwyn practice in January 1967 after the veterinarian went into hospital for an eye operation and never returned to the practice to work.
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Hugh Wirth was the principal in the practice from January 1967 to his retirement in August 2006.
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Hugh Wirth joined the RSPCA as a junior member in 1948, trained in veterinary science and practised as a veterinarian for 47 years, and became one of Australia's best known and outspoken animal welfare advocates.
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Hugh Wirth had now been a council member for RSPCA Victoria from 1969, and President from 1972.
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Hugh Wirth was the first non-European to hold the position as president of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
9.
In March 2011 Hugh Wirth said that RSPCA Australia would investigate all reports of animal cruelty resulting from the Eden Park Kangaroo Cull and said herding of kangaroos, which has been reported as part of the kangaroo cull, was in breach of a Victorian kangaroo management plan compiled by the DSE and approved by the RSPCA years ago.
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Hugh Wirth was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 10 June 1985 "for service in the field of animal welfare particularly with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ".
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In 1988, Wirth was the first Australian to receive the George T Angell Humanitarian Award from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.