The Old Diocesan Issue 13 - Magazine - Page 63
FORCE FOR GOOD
University of London and an MA
in conservation from Pretoria.
He finished with a PhD as well.
In 2008, he spent several formative
months in the Habitat Écologique
et Liberté des Primates, a primate
sanctuary in the Republic of the
Congo, before returning home to
build his career in veterinary care.
This dedication to South Africa
bridges conservation and rural
animal health. He has established
animal clinics in various parts
of the country from Grabouw
to Mpumalanga, and in 2016, he
teamed up with fellow OD Jonty
Acton (1991F) to produce the
reality series Frontier Vets for
the SABC. The 13-episode show
followed eight veterinary students
working in the rural Hluvukani
Animal Health Centre close to
the Kruger National Park. Their
challenges ranged from the wild
and unpredictable – searching for
escaped lion cubs along a game
fence; managing the real fear of
poachers – to the mundane but
Greg Simpson and his team are training future
wildlife detectives to investigate the monstrous
trade in wild animals and other organisms.
equally important tasks of caring
for abandoned domestic animals
and sick livestock.
Throughout the series, Greg
was the calm lead vet and tough
mentor to the group, deciding
when to step in with decisive
assistance, and when to let
his young charges flounder
a bit before finding their feet.
For Greg, the opportunity
provided to the students at the
academy today lies not just in
becoming better investigators
in the field of veterinary forensic
science, but also in the growth
they experience when meeting a
diverse array of fellow participants.
What seems obvious and easy to
comprehend for South Africans
accustomed to visiting and often
living in natural spaces in close
proximity to wildlife can be
strange and intimidating for urban
European investigators with little
experience of the origin of the
trafficking they are encountering.
The combination of Greg’s
scholarly excellence, real-world
experience and entrepreneurial
vision is what makes the Wildlife
Forensic Academy a truly unique
enterprise. Connecting South Africa
to global knowledge networks
in forensics, criminology and
criminal justice, Greg hopes that
the academy will help to fill in the
gaps in the investigative ecosystem
that fights sophisticated and wellresourced trafficking syndicates.
The future for this groundbreaking initiative is exciting –
but it is also precarious. Links
with institutions overseas have
This photograph, which features prominently on the WFA’s website, captures the academy’s multidisciplinary mantra quite
aptly: “From Crime Scene to Courtroom”. Greg, far left, poses as the wildlife veterinarian, with a ranger/conservationist,
legal representatives, and fingerprint and crime scene expert alongside.
THE OLD DIOCESAN | 59
