Jersey Zoo Internships
Durrell Training Academy offers a 6-to-12-month internship programme targeted at University or College placement students and aspiring conservation professionals, seeking hands-on experience to strengthen their CVs and prepare for careers in conservation. Interns work alongside, and learn from, endangered species recovery specialists across four departments at Durrell Conservation Trust, Jersey Zoo.
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Mauritius Island Restoration Internships (MIRI)
This opportunity provides support to the ongoing island restoration work on the Mauritian offshore islets of Round Island (Ile Ronde) and Ile aux Aigrettes. Selected interns will receive a range of sustained training and learning experiences, allowing them to develop the full set of competences - skills, knowledge and behavioural qualities – that they need to be effective in their current and future roles. The internship programme is delivered by Durrell Conservation Training based in Mauritius in partnership with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF). It is an exciting opportunity to learn directly through exchange of skills and understanding with organisations that have a track record of conservation success in Mauritius and the South-Western Indian Ocean. We deliver much of our practical, field conservation training through our partnership with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF), in agreement with the National Parks and Conservation Service (NPCS) of the Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security of Mauritius.
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Veterinary Placement
The veterinary department at Jersey Zoo is responsible for ensuring the health and welfare of the individuals and populations that make up the zoo’s animal collection. The team currently consists of three full-time veterinary surgeons and a registered veterinary nurse. We are passionate about the work that we do and always keen to assist veterinary students in gaining some invaluable experience in the highly competitive field of zoological and conservation-based medicine.
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Research opportunities
We welcome enquiries from students and researchers interested in collaborative research projects on any of our field programmes or in the zoo. Please direct enquiries to conservation.science@durrell.org.
We strongly encourage you to include a specific project idea in your enquiry and are particularly interested in projects that align with Durrell's strategy. All research projects must pass through a rigorous ethics and research approval process before any data collection begins, so please get in touch early to avoid delays in your research.
We regret that we may not respond to generic enquiries that simply request a project idea to fulfil a University requirement.
Jersey Zoo Internships
Am I eligible to apply?
Applicants must be over 18 years and studying or have completed their studies in a relevant subject (degree or diploma level) and/or can demonstrate their passion for working in a zoo or conservation environment. For our field programme internship (with red-billed choughs), you must be over the age of 21 years and have held a driving license for a minimum of 6 months.
What will I do?
Interns can train in one of four departments: Mammals, Bird (Zoo or Field – Red-Billed Chough), Herpetology, and Learning. Interns can work with either a single department for a 6-8 month internship or two departments for a 9-12-month internship. Please be aware that many of the departments can only accept one student at a time, so although we try and cater for everyone's first choice of department, this may not always be possible.
All animal department placements provide opportunity to either observe or assist with to learn and eventually assume responsibility for elements of the core aspects of captive husbandry, as well as involvement in, enclosure design and maintenance, behavioural and veterinary monitoring, animal capture, handling, and sampling techniques, enrichment and training techniques, food preparation and feeding, and public engagement. Depending on the time of year interns may further experience egg incubation, juvenile husbandry, or hand-rearing management. Interns undertaking the Red-Billed Chough placement additionally develop field-based skills in census techniques, target training, quarantine and record keeping and reporting. Those placed in the Learning department assist in the development and delivery of taught sessions and engagement activities for the visiting public (adults and children) and school groups.
To learn more about each department please read the brochure here.
When can I start?
Internship training posts are filled a year in advance, and applications for 2026 are currently closed. Keep an eye on our Home page of our Durrell Conservation Academy Facebook Page for announcements of when applications re-open and news of adhoc slots opening up during the year.
The minimum requirement for placement is 6 months and the longest 12 month in length. Longer placements typically start between July - December, 6 month placement typically take start Dec-March but this can vary. Placements for all departments except the Learning Department are available throughout the year. Internships on the Learning Department are only available for 6 months between March-Sept. Applicants must commit to a minimum of 6 months placement, although shorter 4–6-month placements may become available adhoc.
Will I be paid?
Unfortunately no, as Jersey Zoo is a charity our internship training programme is unpaid. Interns will be provided with a uniform and offered free bus travel to the zoo and a free lunch pass to eat lunch at our Cafe Dodo for the duration of their internship. As well as hands on experience, the interns will be provided with a lecture each month given by experts in their fields. Interns must be prepared to cover all other food, travel and accommodation costs for the duration of their placement. Unfortunately, we do not offer scholarships for our Zoo Internships but students can use funding (e.g. ERASMUS) to cover their costs.
Do you provide accommodation?
We do not provide accommodation, so Interns must arrange this for themselves. As Jersey is a costly island to live, we provide a list of affordable places in family homes that are commonly used by Interns each year. The approximate cost of this accommodation is £90-£130/week, which is significantly cheaper than the prices on the Jersey open market. Interns must confirm at interview that they are capable of paying these costs for the duration of the placement for which they have applied. Interns are responsible for arranging this accommodation with the providers themselves and to source their own alternatives if they are full up, or not to their liking.
Can I carry out a research project as part of an industry placement?
Yes, we are a research focused organisation and welcome requests to carry out short projects during your placement. Projects will be assigned by Dr Simon Tollington, Conservation Science Manager, DWCT, in agreement with the intern when they are on placement and this research can be carried out in tandem with the interns time on the animal departments. These vary according to season and cannot be arranged ahead of time.
If you are interested in carrying out Research outside of an Internship Placement as part of BSc, MSc or PhD, please check see our Research opportunities section.
How to apply for the next intern cohort?
Places for our internships are limited and we have a rigorous application and selection process in place to ensure successful applicants will be dedicated to getting the most out of their training. As such we have a three-stage application process:
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Complete the Applications form, the link can be found on the last page of our brochure here. If you are unable to use the form, then please email your answers using the same format of questions to academy@durrell.org. Some applicants will also be asked to supply their CV before the end of December to support their application.
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Candidates through to second stage will be approached in early January to arrange an online informal interview (due to high numbers of applicant we will not be contacting unsuccessful candidates with personalised feedback at this stage)
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Successful applicants will be offered internship places in early February (or earlier if this is required by University or ERASMUS applications)
Mauritius Island Restoration Internships (MIRI)
Am I eligible to apply?
This internship is specifically designed for early career conservation professionals from Mauritius, the South-Western Indian Ocean islands or related conservation contexts (experience in tropical coastal/island restoration). We are looking for highly self-motivated and conscientious individuals to assist with the conservation and restoration work on the offshore islands within our programme teams. Specific requirements are listed in the leaflet (below).
What will I do?
Selected interns will be embedded in the field sites in Mauritius and classroom-based learning will take place at the Floreal Durrell Conservation Training office and include topics such as Distance sampling, Capture Mark Recapture, Statistics using R, QGIS, Forest restoration and communication-facilitation skills. “On-the-job” training will be provided notably through the field work you will conduct within our Island Restoration team on Round Island, and Ile aux Aigrettes with potential opportunities to participate in other island work. A maximum of 8 week, spread across the year, will be spent in classroom training. For details of the type of work to expect and the topics covered in the taught element of the internship, please refer to our brochure.
Logistics & Costs
Return international flight, individual medical and repatriation insurance, in-transit expenses, visa fees (if any) and work-related local transportation will all be covered by Durrell for selected interns. A monthly stipend of cRs 20,000 per month (about GBP320) will also be allocated to each selected intern to support food and personal expenses. When not working at offshore sites, interns will be accommodated at Durrell and MWF shared accommodation in Blue Bay in the South-East of Mauritius.
How to apply
To apply, please complete the application form in our brochure here email your CV and a covering letter, explaining why you would like to take part in the internship to teesha.baboorun@durrell.org.
Still not sure? Read the program brochure for an in-depth look into what to expect and who will be training you.
Veterinary Placement
What to expect from a placement with Jersey Zoo veterinary department?
Needless to say, the clinical work undertaken in a zoo differs greatly from that of companion or production animal settings. We find that our ‘hands-on’ workload is less, with fewer operations or examinations occurring on any given day. Instead, we spend more of our time performing other duties relating to the care of our patients. These may include:
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Performing post-mortem examinations of any and every mortality that occurs.
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Undertaking in-house diagnostic procedures and laboratory work to return rapid diagnoses on clinical cases.
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Consulting with the zoo’s keeping teams regarding current and previous cases.
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Undertaking research into how best to care for our often less well-studied patients.
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Writing detailed notes to help develop the evidence base for rare and exotic species.
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Liasing with other institutions to facilitate the import and export of animals to and from the collection.
Students who spend time with us are encouraged to engage with all of the above, but it is worth noting that the nature of our work is less clinical than elsewhere and opportunities to actively participate in procedures and surgeries will be reduced.
Who is eligible to apply?
Placements are offered to veterinary students in the final (generally 4th or 5th) years of their studies who would like to gain clinical experience in a zoological setting. Application for placements can be competitive and we would ask that only students with a genuine interest in exotic, zoological or conservation medicine apply for the limited spaces we can offer.
How long are placements for?
We would recommend that students plan to spend four weeks with us. Three weeks is acceptable but any less than that we have found to be less useful as a learning experience. Slightly longer placements can also be arranged on request.
Our working hours are 8am to 5pm during the winter months and 8am to 5.30pm during the summer. Students are generally asked to work Monday to Friday but there may be exceptional times when weekend work is available. However, this is not common or mandatory.
Requirements for students
We must ask that all students have obtained up-to-date vaccinations for rabies and tetanus prior to starting with us. Additionally, our work can be physically demanding at times and students should consider whether or not they are physically able to assist with this.
UK Students will not require a VISA to enter Jersey. However, VISA's are required by some countries to enter the UK, the same rules apply for Jersey, you can find out more here. Students are responsible for sorting their own VISA applications before their placement starts.
There is reciprocal health care provision in the event of emergencies for UK and French visitors only. Therefore, it is recommended that students obtain health insurance cover for the duration of their trip, as visits to health care professionals can be expensive. Students will be insured for all their activities within the zoo providing they act in strict accordance with the policy and procedures of the veterinary department and the zoo in general.
Funding
Unfortunately, we cannot currently offer funding for veterinary placements at Jersey Zoo. Students should consider the cost of travel, accommodation, and daily life on the island. We may be able to assist with accommodation costs by offering some more cost-effective options, but even still the cost of living can be high, and this should be considered prior to arrival.
Research
Research whether official or unofficial, personal or professional is a large part of what we do and we encourage students to involve themselves with that whenever possible. Small-scale in-house research projects can be a useful way to spend less busy periods and we will often ask students to assist with these.
With regards to more ‘official’ research, we cannot offer any options for practical projects, but desk-based research can be carried out under guidance. However, please note that this must be approved by supervisors and will require students to provide a copy of any findings derived from work conducted at the zoo.
How to apply
Applications for 2026 are now closed and we would like to thank all applicants for their interest. The application form for 2027 will go live in January 2026, please return to this page then to find a copy.
If you have any additional questions regarding veterinary placements at Jersey Zoo, please feel free to contact Dave (Associate Veterinarian) at dave.houston@durrell.org