Michael D. Kock

Dr. Michael Kock is a veterinarian who works as a conservation practitioner, with a particular interest in the issues of ecosystems, wildlife and their relationship to human health and well-being. His career as a wildlife veterinarian has spanned several continents, but Africa is his home, and the African people and wildlife provide his sustenance.

Dr. Kock was born in South Africa, but grew up in Zimbabwe, traveling from there to do his veterinary degree in England. Veterinary work was pursued in America and the Middle East before he returned to Zimbabwe where he was heavily involved with rhinoceros work during the poaching heydays of the 1980 and 1990s. His work has carried him across Africa to Cameroon and throughout Southern Africa.

He believes that the future of conservation lies in winning the hearts and minds of the rural people of Africa and supporting their aspirations and improving the health of their livestock. Dr. Kock has broadened his horizons by involvement with organizations such as Theatre for Africa in educating people on conservation and health issues; he is a member of the Southern African Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SASUSG). He believes the key to success in conservation in the developing world is by adopting a participatory approach, capacity-building, educating, and supporting homegrown solutions.