AAVAC Conference - Canberra 22-24th November 2024

Canberra Rex Hotel

150 Northbourne Ave, Braddon ACT 2612

The Association of Avian Veterinarians Australasian Committee is pleased to welcome you to their annual conference on November 22nd-24th, 2024. Come join colleagues and friends for a great scientific program and workshops on avian medicine, surgery and conservation. This year we are pleased to be joining the AVA UPAV conference at the Canberra Rex Hotel, and the AAVAC conference will be immediately followed by UPAV (25-27th of November). 

Keynote Speaker

Brian Speer, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice), DECZM (Avian)

This year we are excited to announce our keynote speaker Dr. Brian Speer. Dr Speer is the owner and director of The Medical Center for Birds in Oakley, California. Dr. Speer is Past President of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, and a consultant for the Veterinary Information Network (VIN). He is certified in avian practice through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and through the European College of Zoological Medicine in the avian specialty. Dr. Speer is the 2003 recipient of the T.J. Lafeber Avian Practitioner of the Year award, Speaker of the Year for the North American Veterinary Conference (2006), AAV President’s award (2008) and Educator of the Year for the Western Veterinary Conference (2015, 2023). He is co-author of The Large Macaws (1995), Birds for Dummies (1999), editor of Current Veterinary Therapy in Avian Medicine and Surgery Volume 1(2015), Birds for Dummies second edition (2021), and co-editor of Current Veterinary Therapy in Avian Medicine and Surgery Volume 2 (in press) – anticipated publication early 2025. 

Scientific Program 

The AAVAC conference will have 2.5 days (Friday to Sunday) of scientific program followed by workshops on Sunday. The full program can be found here: AAVAC Conference Program 

Call for papers

The AAVAC program will have talks from our keynote speaker, avian vets and researchers. If you are interested in presenting, please send an email to anthony.chamings@dpi.nsw.gov.au with your proposed topic and duration. The AAVAC aims to produce a peered review conference proceedings to accompany the conference, and serve as an ongoing resource for avian vets. Information on preparing a conference abstract can be found at our Presenter's guide.  

Workshops

On the Sunday, we will host two hands-on surgical workshops. 

Workshop 1: Surgical procedures of the avian skull

Instructor: Dr Brian Speer

In this workshop participants will learn about and practice surgical procedures to treat and repair injuries to the head and beak of avian patients.  

Workshop 2: Avian Orthopaedic Surgery.

Instructors: Dr Hamish Baron Unusual Pet Vets, Australia and Dr Shangze Xie, Mandai Wildlife Group, Singapore

In this workshop participants will have the opportunity to learn and practice a range of orthopaedic repair techniques applicable to the avian patient.   

Accommodation

There are many accommodation options including at the hotel and at nearby hotels in Canberra. The Canberra Rex Hotel is on Northbourne Avenue, in the heart of Canberra with the light rail running right outside the front door. 

Social Program

The social program starts  on the evening of Friday the 22nd of November with the welcome drinks and canapes, and culminates with the conference dinner on Saturday night. These events are great opportunities to meet and catch-up with colleagues. Partners are welcome too. Register for these events through the conference registration system below.      

Thing's to do

Being the national capital, Canberra has many things to see and do.   the National Museum, National Zoo and Aquarium, Questacon the National Science and Technology Centre and the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Find out more at: https://visitcanberra.com.au.

Register

Follow the link below to register for this year's conference. Our conference booking system is run by Conference Online which has secure payment facilities.

Due to the workshops running concurrently, please chose only one when you register.