Young vets bare all in yearly rite of passage
Stripping off for a top charity
GETTING their gear off for a nude shoot has become something of a rite of passage for North Queensland vet students.
This year was no exception, as 70 fourth-year James Cook University veterinary science students posed in the buff with nothing but boots, hats, dogs and horses to cover their bits.
The birthday-suit shoot was used to make a stylish calendar that will be sold to raise money for the class’s end of year ball, with 10% of profits also donated to the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners.
Student Amy Neale was among the brave young people who bared all.
“Obviously, it’s not something you do every day so it was a fun experience,” she said.
“We all just had a laugh with it. We were pretty nervous before we started.”
Vicki Pugh, the talent behind Vicki Miller Photography, donated her services as well as livestock at her family’s horse property, Rhondu Stud, for the calendar project.
A Townsville florist, Away With Flowers, also donated props and elegant flower crowns for the ladies to wear while they were in the raw.
Amy was jovial when talking about the project, but stressed that their calendar supported a worthy charity.
“As rural veterinary students, we wanted to chose a charity that was relevant to us,” she said.
“This is a charity that is close to the heart of a lot of our students; some of us are off properties.
“With the hay runners… you can see exactly where the funds are going.”
This is the third consecutive year JCU vet students have used a nude calendar to raise money.
“It has almost become a
rite of passage,” Amy said.
“We all sort of joked about it and laughed when the years above us did it, but in a way, you just can’t wait to be in your final year of study – it’s all part of finishing the journey.”
Next year will be the last of the students’ five-year course.
Amy said while working with animals would soon be their bread and butter, posing naked with hounds proved to be the biggest challenge.
“You wouldn’t think it, but
the hardest animals to work with were the dogs,” she laughed.
“Because we were trying to pick them up and hold them in a certain way, often they didn’t want to co-operate, it was really quite funny.”
❝it’s Obviously,
not something you do every day so it was a fun experience. We all just had a laugh with it. — Amy Neale