In March 1951, 28 US and Canadian wildlife biologists at the 16th North American Wildlife Conference in Milwaukee Wisconsin founded an organization called the Wildlife Disease Committee which in 1952 became the Wildlife Disease Association. The goal was to establish an international scientific organization dedicated solely to the study and understanding of the health of wild animals.

Dr. Carlton Herman, a scientist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, was the WDA’s founding chairman (1951-1955) and first elected president (1959-1961). He also served as editor of Wildlife Disease, a microfiche journal, from 1959-1972 which evolved in to the JOurnal of Wildlife Diseases.

Learn more about Dr. Herman’s contribution to the WDA and the field of wildlife health HERE.

Since then, the WDA has grown into the world's largest collective dedicated solely to wildlife health.

We are planning some celebratory activities in the coming months so stay tuned.