At the first mention of Argentina, Campbell Costello\u2019s eyes light up. \u201cAh, Argentina,\u201d he sighs, gazing dreamily into space. \u201cI\u2019ve got a romance with that country like no other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coming from this most peripatetic of vets, that is really saying something. It is obvious to anyone listening to Campbell Costello BVSc \u2013 more commonly known as Cozzy \u2013 that his first passion is veterinary science and its community, but a very close second is travel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A boy from the bush, originally hailing from remote north Queensland, Campbell has since ranged far and wide in his capacity as veterinarian. His experiences include riding one thousand kilometres across Mongolia in the world\u2019s longest horse race, the Mongol Derby, trekking across the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, working in the Highveldt of South Africa, living with the nomadic Tsaatan reindeer herders in the Kh\u00f6vsg\u00f6l province on the Russian border, working as an airborne veterinarian for the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Alaska, being stationed in South-Eastern Kazakhstan as the head veterinarian and farm manager of a Angus Beef Cattle farm (where he also had the rare honour of attending the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan as a veterinarian to offer assistance to the local animals and training to local veterinarians and para-veterinarians). He has also worked with several overseas governments importing breeding animals, taking him to countries including Russia, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kuwait, Oman, Israel, the UAE, and Sri Lanka – to name but a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But even amongst such a dazzling travelling vet resume, there is one experience that stands out for Campbell – being the mounted veterinarian for the Gaucho Derby recce mission in Argentina. This involved riding across Patagonia for several days, mapping a basic route for the inaugural Gaucho Derby race in 2020, while monitoring the local Criollo horses\u2019 physiological parameters as a response to the terrain and conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just something about Argentina,\u201d continues Campbell, \u201cwhether it\u2019s wearing the gaucho beret (called a boina), drinking Malbec around an open fire, or cooking an asado steak on the barbeque, horses tethered beside you in amazing landscapes such as Patagonia \u2013 there is truly nothing like it.\u201d He goes on to say that while the Aussie and American cowboy culture is culturally familiar, it is the gaucho tradition of Argentina that is still truly respected. \u201cAnd there\u2019s something very cool about a guy galloping around the countryside on a horse, wearing a beret, knee-high riding boots, bombachas pants and poncho, with an assortment of knives stuck into his belt.\u201d He grins. \u201cIt just resonates with a bush kid from Queensland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not just gaucho culture and incredible landscapes like the glaciers and the lake district of Bariloche, Campbell says \u2013 there is the stylish hub of Buenos Aires, the product of Spanish and Italian colonisation alongside local culture, reflected in its distinctive fashion, language, music, dance, food and approach to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Campbell has returned to be based in his home state, but he still travels widely as a locum and more recently, as a tour leader for veterinary study tours with Jon Baines Tours. He\u2019s led two tours to South Africa and Malaysia and is returning to his beloved Argentina for his third tour from November 4\u201317 2024. He is a keen advocate of this type of travel for veterinary practitioners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn Australia, we\u2019re very lucky that we\u2019re an island locked away at the bottom of the globe, which means we can be very insulated from things other countries have to face,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cTravelling as a vet can give you a whole new perspective. It\u2019s a great opportunity to see first-hand what other countries have to face – exotic disease, zoonotic disease, sometimes struggles to get healthcare, let alone veterinary care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Campbell cites a case study his group learnt about when they were travelling in South Africa last year and visited Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, at the base of the majestic Drakensburg Mountains. Poaching has been a big problem in South Africa for decades, with a recent spike partly due to increased demand for rhino horn, which is a coveted ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A telltale sign of a carcass in South Africa are a plume of black bodies. Circling vultures always spark an interest in rangers; is it a natural death, or poaching? To prevent attracting attention, poachers learned to steal organophosphates from nearby farms to lace the carcass, killing the vultures. The worst case was 150 vultures down at one time. Moholoholo sent emergency triage out in the field with vets and nursing staff assessing which were dead, which were dying, and which ones could pull through with treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which begs the question \u2013 why all this bother about vultures? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey are the environment\u2019s vacuum cleaner,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cVultures are immune to anthrax and rabies \u2013 vulture saliva disables anthrax spores \u2013 which means that they can clean up infected bodies and they don\u2019t get sick. In turn, other animals don\u2019t get infected.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the mass killing of vultures came disease outbreaks in areas that they hadn\u2019t seen before, all because Mother Nature\u2019s vacuum cleaner could not do its essential job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVets are very aware of the symbiotic nature of environments,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cTo see the full scope of the problem you need to look at both the causes and knock-on effects. We see this with weather changes causing repercussions in our herds and livestock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When COVID kicked off, many of the epidemiologists were vets. \u201cWe\u2019re used to looking at things as herds,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cWe step back and look at the whole. I see this pattern over and over again.\u201d He cites a case of Japanese encephalitis which affected southern Australia over the last couple of years. It was the vets that first raised the alarm and let the medical fraternity know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another interesting example is a recent outbreak of leptospirosis in companion animals, resulting in human infection, in Sydney. This was traced back to tunnelling work being done at the time. The disturbance to the bedrock caused vermin to flee to the surface, urinating on surfaces and spreading lepto in outbreaks that were unprecedented in their scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVets have such a variety of skills and fulfil many different roles,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cIt\u2019s not just hugging cats on Bondi Vet<\/em>.\u201d He grins. \u201cWe can be very underappreciated for our holistic approach \u2013 we look at not only the animals, but society, human health and environmental equilibrium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which is another reason that travelling as a vet is particularly enlightening. Being on tour in another destination allows for immersion and insight into local society and culture, as well as veterinary science. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Campbell sees four major benefits of travelling on a veterinary study tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe first and biggest benefit is the networks you make,\u201d he says. \u201cI love seeing a big mob of mismatched people who have never met before gel into a close group over a few days. We can isolate ourselves in the hustle and bustle of life, so that\u2019s really important. It\u2019s great to see them having a beer at the end of the day, having a chat about what would you have done differently, what are your challenges? Professional mediation and the lifelong friendships are number one for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second benefit is connected to this. \u201cWe need to be hypervigilant and aware of the importance of mental health in veterinary science,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cHaving someone to share experiences with, like having the grievance of euthanising an animal or going through the process with an distraught owner. Such things can really take a toll and every time I do a JBT tour I see that this sharing aspect is really important for people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Number three is the cultural insight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI might be a horse practitioner in Australia, but how does that transfer into Argentina? It\u2019s a way of finding common ground with others, bringing us together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, this cultural immersion gives a snapshot of other peoples\u2019 lives and the challenges of day-to-day life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor example, I would never have considered the challenge of rolling blackouts until I worked in South Africa,\u201d explains Campbell. \u201cHow this impacts not only charging your phone, getting mobile reception or internet, trying to keep food cold – but also, what do I do when I need my anaesthetic machine? How do I run a high-quality practice when the power grid goes down? These are challenges that most Aussies don\u2019t truly understand.:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even the wet market in in Georgetown in Malaysia was an eye opener, chuckles Campbell. \u201cNewly slaughtered chickens hanging ready to buy was confronting for some \u2013 but if you don\u2019t own a fridge, you buy what you need fresh each day, rather than something wrapped in plastic from Coles. It\u2019s simply the way things are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the same way that he says Patagonia is a bit like the Northern Territory \u2013 but colder and with snow-capped mountains, and small ruminants called guanacos running around. It\u2019s both the differences and the connections that bring a journey to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n