Recently, our FdSc Zoo Husbandry and Management students attended the annual zookeeper conference, ABWAK Symposium at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
ABWAK stands for Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers and they are a membership organisation for those interested and involved in the keeping and conservation of wild animals, which seeks to achieve the highest standards of excellence in animal welfare through communication, cooperation, training and development.
The annual Symposium provides a wide range of topics on a variety of species, and a selection of practical workshops. The students were able to take part in workshops including feeding and behind the scenes with the polar bears, firehouse weaving and research sessions over the two days. In addition, there were talks from zookeepers across the country sharing their knowledge and experiences. This is a trip that runs each year to enable the Higher Education students to meet and network with zoo professionals and experience opportunities that are very unique.
Alex Shaw FdSc Zoo Husbandry and Management student said, “I really enjoyed ABWAK 2023. Going behind the scenes and seeing so many animals up close was so insightful. The many events across the weekend, such as the talks and workshops, were so interesting and gave me a great opportunity to learn new things about zookeeping, which can be taken into my career in the future.”
She continued, “The evening events gave us the chance to engage with keepers from leading zoos across the country and receive some useful advice.”