CAREERS WITH ANIMALS
Plus information for animal management students.
As you consider your next steps, you may find the following starting points useful. Working with animals can be a very rewarding career and there are many different kinds of employment, work experience and voluntary placements available. However, competition for places is fierce and it is important to consider what type of work is most suited to you, and what areas you interest you. You may also be interested in further study.
- ANIMAL CARE
- ANIMAL CHARITIES
- WORKING IN ZOOS
- WORKING WITH HORSES
- VETERINARY
- ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
- VACANCY SOURCES
- OTHER LINKS
Also see our ENVIRONMENT careers page www.kent.ac.uk/careers/environment.htm
ANIMAL CARE
- Guide Dogs for the Blind www.guidedogs.org.uk includes information on jobs and volunteering at Guide Dogs
- Kennel Club www.the-kennel-club.org.uk includes a recruitment section
- Pet Care Trust www.petcare.org.uk includes a "find-it" directory of professional pet care and other related services that can be searched by county, town or postcode
- PetsLocally www.petslocally.co.uk find all local pet services, from Vets, Pet Shops to Dog Walkers.
- The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare www.ufaw.org.uk Online journal of animal welfare news includes information on grants, awards and scholarships
- Institute of Animal Technology www.iat.org.uk Animal Technicians are responsible for the care and welfare of animals being bred for or used in research. Includes a careers section.
- Animal Technician in the pharmaceutical industry http://tinyurl.com/ycsbxth "Laboratory News" is a source of jobs and information.
ANIMAL CHARITIES
- Blue Cross www.bluecross.org.uk includes a "Work with Us" section on careers with Blue Cross, careers in veterinary nursing, and careers with horses. Also includes a job vacancies section.
- RSPCA www.rspca.org.uk Search for careers section, regional centres, veterinary and wildlife hospitals. Includes job profiles, and a link to current vacancies.
- PDSA www.pdsa.org.uk News links and locations of animal hospitals
- RSPB www.rspb.org.uk/vacancies includes a section on vacancies
- World Wide Fund for Nature www.panda.org includes a section on how you can help
WORKING IN ZOOS
- There are about 60 zoos, and 100 wild animal collections in the UK.
- British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums www.biaza.org.uk
- Zoos of the World www.zoos.org links to zoos and wildlife parks in UK and abroad
- Yell www.yell.com Type zoo, wildlife park or safari parks into the search box
- Association of British Wild Animal Keepers www.abwak.co.uk Bi-monthly journal includes career information job vacancies links to zoos and other animal related sites. Includes a useful article entitled "So you want to be a zoo keeper?".
- International Zoo News magazine www.zoonews.ws/IZN has back issues online and a search facility at www.zoonews.ws
- Howletts www.howletts.net Kent wild animal parks . Page on How to be a keeper
- Wildwood Trust www.wildwoodtrust.org woodland discovery park between Canterbury & Herne Bay. Volunteers needed for: maintenance, gardening and DIY; conservation research, feeding and looking after the animals, shop work and customer care, education work with children. If you wish to help telephone 01227 712111 or e-mail info@wildwoodtrust.org
- Rare Species Conservation Centre www.rarespeciesconservationcentre.org near Sandwich, Kent. "We are always looking for volunteers, whether you are a keen gardener, shit shoveler or enjoy talking to children about conservation issues, please get in touch as we can always use the help"
- Monkey World www.monkeyworld.co.uk primate care centre, with links to other relevant sites
- Zoological Society of London (The Institute of Zoology) www.zsl.org London Zoo and Whipsnade Safari Park. Detailed information on applying to become a temporary keeper.
- Chester Zoo www.chesterzoo.org detailed information on working in zoos, the range of roles available and the qualifications or experience required.
- Colchester Zoo www.colchester-zoo.co.uk range of vacancies including work experience trainees are regularly advertised here. Can also submit a CV and speculative letter.
- Woburn Safari Park www.woburnsafari.co.uk Bedfordshire: has a vacancies page.
WORKING WITH HORSES
- British Horse Society www.bhs.org.uk excellent careers pages on working with horses, together with vacancy information. A-Z of organisations welfare links equestrian directory careers equestrian centres riding schools equestrian sports.
- British Horseracing Board www.britishhorseracing.com guide to careers in the British racing industry, training information, vacancies at BHB and details of their Graduate Programme
- British Racing School www.brs.org.uk/Home/index.php information on numerous careers in racing, together with jobs and courses
- Association of British Riding Schools www.abrs-info.org includes a factsheet on Working with Horses, a directory of approved riding schools and information about qualifications and tests
- Equiworld.net www.equiworld.net Good links page to everything equestrian.
- Equine Index www.equine-index.co.uk A-Z of companies and organisations involved with horses.
- Horse Web www.horseweb-uk.com UK Stud Directory Directory of Riding Schools and Livery Yard Address Book.
- Equinet www.equinet.com Horse racing links veterinary links and general equestrian links.
- Equestrian Directory www.horseit.com Worldwide business directory by area of interest and name of organisation.
- Equine Online www.equine-online.net Links and vacancies
- Equestrian Times International News www.horsenews.com News and vacancies.
- ForFarmers.com www.forfarmers.com marketplace for horses. includes equine jobs.
VETERINARY
- VET Web www.vetweb.com Links to veterinary profession sites including British Veterinary Nursing Association
- The British Small Animal Veterinary Association www.bsava.com Excellent links to animal welfare websites UK and worldwide covering all aspects of animal care.
- Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons www.rcvs.org.uk Includes veterinary nursing and links to related websites.
- British Veterinary Association (BVA)
www.bva.co.uk - British Equine Veterinary Association www.beva.org.uk
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
- Association of Pet Behaviour counsellors www.apbc.org.uk/career.htm includes information on becoming a pet behaviour counsellor, as well as useful links and case studies
- Applied Animal Behaviourist Profile
www.connexions-direct.com/jobs4u/index.cfm?pid=49&catalogueContentID=251 - Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour http://asab.nottingham.ac.uk has information on ASAB grants. Useful for finding out contact details of other societies and animal behaviour mailing lists.
- UK Registry of Canine Behaviourists www.ukrcb.org professional body for canine behaviourists in the UK. Has list of members and article on becoming a canine behaviourist.
- Animal Information Network www.animal-info.net/animalbehaviour/resources.html useful links to animal behaviour related resources.
- Animal Behaviour Centre www.companyofanimals.co.uk/behave.htm
- Society for Companion Animal Studies www.scas.org.uk
- Blue Cross www.bluecross.org.uk charity which employs animal behaviorists.
- Animal Behaviour Careers Article (USA) www.animalbehavior.org/ABS/Guides/Careers.pdf
Other job areas include:
animal nutrition research and advice; animal health and welfare; animal breeding and genetics; game keeper; animal nutritionist; agricultural consultant and animal welfare inspector.
VACANCY SOURCES
- Horse and Hound Online www.horseandhound.co.uk Magazine with news, guide to careers and vacancies, with college and training directory Need to subscribe for vacancies.
- ADAS (Agricultural Development & Advisory Service)
- Animal Jobs www.animal-job.co.uk information and advice about working with animals. We have details of all types of jobs with animals worldwide, including current animal care vacancies
- Farmers’ Weekly
- Farmers' Guardian
OTHER USEFUL LINKS
- Environment and Biodiversity Careers page www.kent.ac.uk/careers/environment.htm
- Kent Wildlife Trust www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk the leading conservation organisation covering the whole of Kent and Medway, dedicated to protecting wildlife for the future.
- Lantra National Training Organisation www.lantra.co.uk Information on training including veterinary nursing, fish farming, agricultural, livestock, equine, and animal care.
- Working with Animals in Entertainment www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/etis4.htm guidelines for working with animals in the entertainment field
- Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy www.acpat.org
- Institute for Animal Health www.iah.bbsrc.ac.uk Includes postgrad. opportunities and vacancies
- Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs www.defra.gov.uk
- Compassion in World Farming www.ciwf.org.uk
- World Animal Net www.worldanimalnet.org Country by country directory – database of animal protection societies and links.
A graduate called Joe had just finished his degree and was looking for a job. After some time without success he finally landed a job as an assistant at the local zoo. One day the bear at the zoo died. The zoo was facing a financial crisis and could not afford to buy another bear, so they asked Joe to dress up in a bear costume and pretend that he was a bear. Well the money they offered was a small increase and so he took the job. He was put into a cage and in time became very good at imitating a bear, but he had one worry: the bars between his cage and the next were loose and in the next cage was a very ferocious looking lion. One day his worst fears were realized and a bar broke. The lion jumped through the gap and raced up to Joe. Extending his paw, the lion said, "Hi, I'm Phil, a drama graduate from Brum!" |
Last fully updated May 2009