Work Experience Placements
**Important Information**: Work placements are fully booked till mid-September 2025, please do not send an application for dates before that, as you will not receive a reply.
If you would like to apply for a work experience placement, please read the details below carefully. If you fulfil the criteria and wish to apply for a placement, please complete the application form.
All applicants must be 16 years old or over and demonstrate that they have an interest in working with animals as a career.
We offer Work Experience Placements for a period of 1 to 4 weeks duration and participants must be able to attend the placement from Monday to Friday 8am till 5pm. Applications are accepted throughout the year and you will be invited to the Park for an informal interview before your placement is confirmed.
Whilst every effort will be made to allow you to work on your choice of section, demand for placements is high and this may not always be possible.
Animal Sections – the animals at the Park are split into 3 sections. Placement students will spend their time working alongside the Keepers on each of the sub-sections that make up each Animal Section. Please include in your application your preference and we will try and match your placement with your preferred choice where possible.
- Herpetology– including reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates
- Bottom Section: Primates, Small Mammals and Birds – lemurs, callitrichids, meerkat, bats, dik-dik, naked mole rat, otters, passerine birds, penguins, birds of prey, pheasants and parrots etc.
- Top Section: Large Mammals and birds – domestic livestock, lake birds, rhino, giraffe, capybara, tapir, zebra, wallaby etc. Please note that work placement students will not be permitted to work with any of the large carnivore species at the Park.
School Pupils
Applicants who attend school and are over the age of 16 are welcome to apply for a work placement. These applicants will generally work on the Children’s Farm Section with the domestic livestock at the Wildlife Park. There may be an opportunity to work with some of the other larger animals, but this is not guaranteed.
Animal Management Students / University Students
Applicants over the age of 16 who are studying Animal Management at college or a related subject at university can apply to work on any of the three animal sections at the Park. Applicants must be studying an animal related course (Level 3 Animal Management, Degree in a related subject, e.g. Zoology, Animal Science, Animal Behaviour).
Veterinary Students
We can only offer animal husbandry placements for first and second year vet students as part of the EMS. Applicants studying Veterinary Medicine can apply for placements of 1 to 4 weeks duration on any of the three animal sections. If there is availability, we will accommodate your preferred choice. You will be working alongside the Keepers, caring for the animals. We cannot provide clinical placements, as our case load and veterinary cover is not substantial enough to support these placements. However, during the EMS placement, students will have the opportunity to observe veterinary procedures (if any) that occur at the Park.
Additional Information
Please note that Cotswold Wildlife Park is situated in a rural location and there is no public transport. Applicants must arrange their own transport or accommodation for the duration of the placement and consider the costs involved with this.