Jo Hardy

Jo Hardy studied to become a vet at the Royal Veterinary College. After the most demanding 5 years of her life, she graduated with honours in 2014. However, her last year in vet school was far from normal. Day in, day out, she had a film crew with her filming the highs and lows she was experiencing, as well as the heart-warming animal cases that came and went from her life, for BBC 2’s Young Vets series. In August 2014, the 10-part series was aired on national television and was met with a fantastic response from the media, television critics and the millions of viewers who tuned in.

Following on from the show, Jo pursued her love for travel, combining it with her newly found vet skills to help those most in need. Her travels took her into the heart of the townships in South Africa, into the inaccessible wilderness in Uganda, to the destitute city outskirts in Morocco, and the impoverished rural regions in Gambia. Life was not as she knew it in the UK, and she experienced many situations that will stay with her for life, including having to pin down a hyena, take muddy cold water washes under a bucket shower, tackling to get rabies antidotes 200 miles across Gambia, trying to fit a horse into the boot of a pick-up truck, and having to just get on with treating and operating on animals in the worst possible conditions with no suitable equipment or drugs.

Jo went on to publish two books on her experiences with Harper Collins. Tales from a Young Vet was first published in November 2015, detailing her behind the scenes experiences of being filmed for a prominent BBC documentary, whilst trying to do well at the infamously gruelling Veterinary Medicine degree. Tales from a Wild Vet was then published in April 2016, and gives readers an insight into life as a new graduate vet, as well as the arduous and onerous lives of the many people and animals she met in the African countries where she worked.

Upon returning from her travels, Jo works as a clinical vet in the UK alongside showcasing her stories with after dinner and motivational speaking. She is entertaining, engaging and professional, and enjoys regaling audiences with her heart-warming and heart-stopping experiences. She is also a great supporter of humanitarian charities, including World In Need and SPANA, and is constantly seeking new ways of helping people through helping their animals.