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| Volunteering abroad |
| Animal Care |
Animals, be they pets, beasts of burden, source of food and nutrition or mode of transport, are very important and useful for human beings. To get the maximum out of them we need to take good care of them.
Well, the good news is that the opportunities to work in this field are more r than they have ever been: the range of available jobs, both paid and unpaid, is vast and varied.
However, competition is very stiff, especially for paid jobs with conservation organizations from large international groups such as Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth to smaller community-based cooperatives and local wildlife trusts, and for paid jobs to look after whales and dolphins.
During your gap year, i you are interested in a career with whales and dolphins, try joining the European Cetacean Society, located in many countries of Europe, and the US based Marine Mammal Society. While abroad try the following:
In Defense of Animals Africa (IDA) takes care of orphaned chimpanzees and wages a strong campaign against the illegal slaughter of Cameroon's great apes because in the rainforests of Cameroon, the number of wild, free-living chimpanzees is dwindling at an alarming rate.
Animal Asia Foundation (AAF) is a Hong Kong-based animal welfare charity, also active in UK, USA, Germany, China and Australia. It caters to the needs of wild, domesticated and endangered species throughout Asia. The AAF aims to improve the lives of all animals in Asia, end cruelty and restore respect for all living creatures.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals PETA, based in Mumbai,India operates under the simple principle that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on or use for entertainment. It aims to make policy-makers and the public aware about animal abuse and promoting an understanding of the right of all animals to be treated with respect.
Lion Park,outside Johannesburg, South Africa
This famous Lion Park is one of the longest running parks in South Africa .It was established by the world famous Chipperfields Circus in 1966, although it is now privately owned. The park is also home to hyena (both brown and spotted), Cheetah, Leopard, Jackal as well as giraffe, zebra, springbuck, impala and ostrich. The white lions bred at the park are already extinct in the wild and their continuation depends on parks like this one.You will have interaction with many of these animals, and help enrich their lives by playing with them and walking them. The park aims to educate the general public about Africa's indigenous animals by creating environments as close to the natural habitat as possible and providing informative tours around the park. The Park is approximately 208 hectares and each camp is between 3 and 5 hectares. This requires a lot of maintenance and management. Lion cubs are demanding and need feeding every few hours in their first few months. As a gap year volunteer to work here, you must genuinely love of animals. You will be in direct contact with the animals; so be ready to get scratched and bitten. You must be prepared to help with maintenance and do hard manual tasks. Volunteers will need to display team spirit and must love working outdoors. As a volunteers you will undertake daily tasks such as feeding, cleaning and exercising the animals.You can also show visitors around the centre and take school groups around the lion park, while supervising their interaction with the cubs. You are expected to do general maintenance work around the centres and help with cleaning duties. |
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