Meet Joe – Head of Animals at Puxton Park
Joe, Head of Animals, has been with Puxton Park for over five years. Joe’s role covers all of the animal welfare at Puxton Park – except the falconry and dairy farm animals.
"I have always had an interest in animals and, when I was 11, I started volunteering at a local zoo farm. After school I completed the Animal Management, BTEC Extended Diploma with Weston College and went on to an apprenticeship with a local zoo farm.
I was attracted to this course due to the links between the volunteer work, the course content and my future aspirations. This was a better ‘fit’ for me than A Levels as it was more hands-on and relevant. The qualification also helped me to quickly build up confidence in dealing with animals and the public.
On a typical day as head of animals, I start early and have two hours to clean, feed and check all the animals are healthy before we open to the public.
Once the park is open, we continue with the routine care of the animals, give talks to park visitors and carry out enrichment training for the animals – which the public love to watch.
I am particularly interested in making their environments and experiences as similar as possible to the wild.
The animal department has expanded recently, with the addition of some exotic reptiles. You need to watch this space as we will be having some new residents later this summer or early autumn.
What is great about the new Weston College animal education centre at Puxton?
You will get to work with one of the widest varieties of animals – dairy farm animals, birds, reptiles and much more.
As you will be based in the attraction, not only will you get work experience with animals, you will also get the customer-facing experience, which is key to this industry.
Why is the animal care sector important and what are the best bits about working in it?
The whole purpose of captive animals is to educate future generations about animal welfare and how food is produced.
We are also heavily involved with conservation work, and one of our recent projects was forging a link with Bristol Zoo. We have put some rare white cray fish into our lakes to give them a safe environment to breed and replenish their numbers. Conservation is a major part of our ethos here at Puxton.
What advice would you give to animal care students?
Be proactive when it comes to getting work experience. Whether it’s paid or voluntary, this is the best way to learn about the industry.
And always keep an eye on the animals! Once, when I was giving a talk on lizards, showing a group how to weigh lizards during a quick health check, I looked up to answer a question. The group started talking and giggling and when I looked back down, I saw the lizard trotting along the floor!"
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