Dr Ingrid Huisman from Hyde Park Greencross Vets treats pelican that swallowed a dildo

Saturday marks World Veterinary Day, and a new exotic animal vet in Townsville has been busy since it opened in January. See some of the wild goings-on.

Dr Ingrid Huisman is an exotic avian veterinarian specialist at Greencross Vets in Townsville. Pictured here with eight-year-old blue and gold macaw, Ruckus. Picture: Shae Beplate.

The wildest thing to happen at a new vet service in Townsville is a pelican that coughed up a dildo.

Greencross Vets have clinics across Australia, but in January a specialty exotic animal department opened at the Hyde Park Greencross clinic, the first such service in North Queensland.

Anything that isn’t a dog or a cat counts as exotic.

The specialty department flies on the back of Dr Ingrid Huisman, who did an extra four years of study while she worked, after nine years of study, to specialise in exotic birds.

“I always had a passion for animals and I also had a passion for medicine. I just wanted to learn how to help animals,” she said.

Dr Ingrid Huisman is an exotic avian veterinarian specialist at Greencross Vets in Townsville. Pictured here with eight-year-old blue and gold macaw, Ruckus. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Avian exotics require a specialist because they have different stomachs and no diaphragms, the latter changing how they’re anaesthetised.

Dr Huisman does not have any pets herself, she says she’s too busy, but the variety of animals coming through is plenty; she does three to four surgeries a week.

The most unusual thing she’s seen lately? In November, a member of the public brought in a pelican that did not seem to be feeling well, Dr Huisman said.

The pelican would typically be X-rayed, but it came in late at night so it was put away safely for the evening.

Come morning, the pelican had regurgitated a dildo, Dr Huisman said.

A wild Townsville pelican was bought into Greencross Hyde Park vet in November 2022 and it regurgitated a dildo.

The pelican was fine, and the doctor believed it had found at the dildo at the dump.

Many people were not aware of the specialty exotic vet practice in Townsville, Dr Huisman said, and she was proud to help to all forms of fauna.

“We did dentistry on a wombat not too long ago,” she said.

April 29 is also World Vet Day, established by the World Veterinary Association in 2000.

Australia’s Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Beth Cookson said part of vets’ work was getting ahead of diseases.

“Over the past few years, we have seen the rapid spread of diseases like African swine fever and lumpy skin disease into our near region, as well as foot-and-mouth disease being detected for the first time in over 30 years in Indonesia,” Dr Cookson said.

“Our focus on biosecurity in Northern Australia has never been so important to protecting Australia from these diseases.”

Originally published as Dr Ingrid Huisman from Hyde Park Greencross Vets treats pelican that swallowed a dildo