Dr Luke Gamble FRCVS

Doctor of Letters

Thursday 10 July 2025 - Orator: Professor Tim Parkin

Listen to the full oration and honorary speech on SoundCloud.

Vice-Chancellor, 

It is my great honour today to present to you a person whose tireless dedication, compassion, and unwavering commitment to animal welfare has left … and as you will hear continues to leave … an indelible mark on the world — Dr. Luke Gamble. 

Luke Gamble is a name synonymous with action, advocacy, and global impact in the veterinary profession. As the Founder of two international charities, Worldwide Veterinary Service and Mission Rabies, he has transformed veterinary care in some of the most underserved regions of the world, ensuring that both animals and the communities that depend on them receive the care they so desperately need. 

Luke graduated from the University of Bristol in 1999 and went on to complete a clinical scholarship in large animal medicine and surgery at the University of Cambridge. After several years gaining experience in practice, he founded Pilgrims Veterinary Practice in the New Forest in 2005, a mixed animal practice which he ran for over a decade. 

While proud of his clinical work, Luke’s true vocation has been his commitment to using veterinary medicine to make a difference in communities that lack access to animal care. He has looked beyond the walls of practice and into the furthest corners of the world where help is needed most.  

In 2003, he founded Worldwide Veterinary Service, or WVS, followed by Mission Rabies in 2013. These organisations have grown into global forces for good, with a simple purpose at their core: to help as many animals and people as possible. 

Through Worldwide Veterinary Service, Luke established a lifeline for thousands of veterinarians and charities, providing essential supplies, expertise, and training to those working in challenging environments. His organisation has become a beacon of hope, ensuring that veterinary aid reaches those in crisis, from disaster-stricken areas to impoverished rural communities. 

Perhaps one of Luke’s most extraordinary contributions has been his work with Mission Rabies. Rabies remains one of the deadliest diseases known to both humans and animals, yet it is entirely preventable. Luke saw this not just as a veterinary challenge, but as a humanitarian one. Through large-scale vaccination programs, education, and community engagement, Mission Rabies has saved countless lives, proving that a single person’s determination can make a massive difference to those who are most in need. 

Luke happened to be a contemporary of mine, so I was able to acquire some information which may be less well known about him. Several stories came in — 80% of which I think need to remain somewhat buried! But perhaps an early indicator of where he may end up related to the fact that his ‘flatmate’ (it says flatmate here — it is entirely possible it was actually Luke) had the second largest captive bred population of royal pythons in the UK — in a house that didn’t allow pets. Other than that, he has been described to me as a ‘model student’. Of course, there are many different types of ‘model’ we embrace at Bristol, and I would submit this particular model may be somewhat unique! 

Although it was suggested to me that just listing some facts and figures is not the most interesting way to describe an individual’s impact, in this case I do think it worthwhile to help summarise the difference Luke has made: 

Worldwide Veterinary Service has over 300 staff, with projects in more than 50 countries, including seven international training centres. 

In 2024 alone, the charity trained 2,863 vets through its academy programme and surgical training courses.  

An animal was treated by Worldwide Veterinary Service taskforce teams every five minutes throughout the entirety of last year. 

Mission Rabies is now the leading global initiative in the fight against canine transmitted rabies, a disease that kills a child every nine minutes.  

As such in 2024, Mission Rabies vaccinated 1.2 million dogs in rabies-endemic hotspots and delivered life-saving education to 3.5 million people — teaching children and adults how to avoid being bitten and what to do in the event of a dog bite. 

It is clearly fitting, therefore, that today we recognise and honour these achievements. Luke embodies the very best of veterinary medicine — not just in clinical excellence, but in compassion, drive, perseverance, and a commitment to making a real difference in the world. 

Vice-Chancellor, I present to you Luke Robert Gamble as eminently worthy of the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa.