Rory Cowlam (born 27 August 1992), otherwise known as Rory the Vet, is a British

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

, writer and television personality, who rose to prominence through the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

documentary series ''

The Pets Factor ''The Pets Factor'' is a British children's television documentary series, which has aired on CBBC (TV channel), CBBC since 20 June 2017. The series, produced by True North Productions, follows the work of four vets in the UK: Rory Cowlam, Cheryl ...

''. He currently works as a vet in South London and is a co-founder of veterinary app VidiVet alongside his media career. In August 2020 his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

, “The Secret Life of A Vet”, was released, in which he shines a light on

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

in the veterinary profession. He is currently the resident vet for ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

''. An ambassador for the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

and Streetvet, he is known for his strong stance on

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

and

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...

Early life

Rory Alexander Cowlam was born in Ascot, but moved to the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Ju ...

aged four, with his parents and younger sister. There he grew up surrounded by animals, to which he attributes his lifelong passion for them. He attended

Marling School Marling School is a grammar school with academy status for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form located in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. It is on the Cainscross Road, the main route out of Stroud towards the M5, and is situated next to the ...

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

, before going to study

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

at The

Royal Veterinary College , mottoeng = Confront disease at onset , established = (became a constituent part of University of London in 1949) , endowment = £10.5 million (2021) , budget = £106.0 million (20 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Career

Veterinary

Cowlam’s first vet job was at an animal hospital in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, doing

shift work Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use of, or provide service across, all 24 hours of the clock each day of the week (often abbreviated as ''24/7''). The practice typically sees the day divided into shifts, set periods of ...

. He then moved to a practice in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, ...

, where he currently works as one of the leading surgeons, specialising in soft tissue operations.

Television

In 2017 Cowlam landed a leading role in the

documentary series, ''

'', which follows the work of him and four other vets. Since then he has featured on several television shows and documentaries providing veterinary advice and insights, including ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...

'', Sky News and on Channel 5, as well as on various

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

programs. Since 2019 he has been the resident vet for ''

'', with regular appearances on the show.

Writing

In August 2020 Cowlam’s debut book, “The Secret Life of a Vet” was published by Hodder & Stoughton. This autobiographical work details his journey to becoming a vet, with a particular focus on

in the veterinary profession.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowlam, Rory English veterinarians BBC television presenters 21st-century English writers People from Ascot, Berkshire Living people 1992 births