Work Experience Placements
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 a keen interest in working with animals as a career.
We offer Work Experience Placements for a period of 2 to 4 weeks duration and participants must be able to attend the placement from Monday to Friday 8am till 5pm. We cannot support placements 1 day a week. Applications are accepted throughout the year and you will be invited to the Park for an informal interview before your placement is confirmed. Please note that due to the high demand for placements, not all interviewee’s will be successful and offered a placement.
Animal Sections – the animals at the Park are split into 3 sections. Placement students will spend their time working alongside the Keepers on one of the animal sections. Please include in your application your preference and we will try and match your placement with your preferred choice where possible.
- Reptile Section – including reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates
- Primates, Small Mammals and Bird Section – including lemurs, callitrichids, meerkat, bats, dik-dik, naked mole rat, otters, passerine birds, penguins, birds of prey, pheasants and parrots etc.
- Large Mammal Section – including the Children’s Farm, domestic livestock, lake birds, rhino, giraffe, capybara, tapir, zebra, wallaby etc.
Please note that work placement students will not be permitted to work with certain restricted access species, this includes all the large carnivore species at the Park, certain species of primates, venomous reptiles, large bird species etc.
Whilst every effort will be made to allow you to work on your choice of section, this may not always be possible.
School Pupils and College / University Students
Applicants over the age of 16 who are studying A ‘levels, 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 demonstrate an interest in working with animals and either be studying an animal related course (Level 3 Animal Management, Degree in a related subject, e.g. Zoology, Animal Science, Animal Behaviour) or be working towards this.
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 up to 4 weeks in 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 are unable to 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 before they apply for a placement.