Keeper Educational Exchange Programme - KEEP

04/06/2026

🎉NEW PLACEMENT ALERT🎉 - DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING!

Chester Zoo are offering a fantastic 2 day placement working with their exciting collection of carnivores!

A brilliant opportunity to work with a wide range of species including Snow leopard, Giant otter, Jaguar, Fossa, African painted dogs, Cheetah, Palawan binturong, Sumatran tiger and two species of bear!

The successful applicant individual will gain insight into their husbandry routines, conservation efforts and our involvement in breeding programmes and have chance to learn about everything from breeding to enclosure design
To get the chance to work with these fantastic animals whilst working with their dedicated and experienced keepers, register with us and get your application in!

* Minimum experience requirement is 1 year of full time animal keeping experience in the UK and Ireland. *

https://www.keeperexchange.org/.../zoo-keeper-carnivores-2/
🦁🐅🐻
Deadline for application is 07/06/2026
Placement dates: 20th - 21st July 2026

27/05/2026

📣NEW PLACEMENT ALERT! 📣- AMENDED

ZSL London Zoo is offering a brilliant chance to shadow their Browse Management Officer and horticulture team! You'll get chance to see how browse is sourced and delivered to the zoo’s animals and learn about what species-specific considerations and mitigations are in place, as well as getting an insight into the planning and record keeping of the whole operation. Whilst also learning managing a range of plant species at London Zoo from edible flowers to theming to encouraging native species!

The placements are two days long. Day 1 will be with the Horticulture team harvesting browse within the zoo grounds, silage packing with a larger team (some of whom will be corporate volunteers) and finishing with a tour of the site with London Zoo Horticulture Manager, looking at how the zoo uses browseable plants in their landscaping schemes.

Day 2 will be with the Browse Management Officer, starting off with delivering browse around to various animal sections before going out to the woods to harvest and prepare browse for the following day, and finishing off by talking through planning and record keeping.

You should bring suitable clothes for the work and according to the weather. For the day with the Browse Management Officer, you will need to bring a packed lunch, snacks, and drinks as most of that day will be spent off site.

This placement is suitable for keepers (and horticulturists) who wants to get hands on with browse provision and horticulture and all that it entails!

To get the chance to learn from their fantastic browse team and the amazing animals lucky enough to get these tasty leaves:
1) send an email to [email protected] with your CV and Cover Letter stating why you'd like to participate!
If you are a keeper, you **MUST be a member of KEEP to sign up**. Horticulturalists must state which zoo they work at.

We are excited to announce multiple date opportunities for this placement so you have 3 opportunities to take part in this fantastic experience!

PLUS each lucky successful applicant is eligible for a £100 stipend to help with travel/accommodation costs for the duration of the placement thanks to our friends at the BIAZA plant working group!

Placements;
17th-18th June 2026
15th-16th July 2026
9th-10th September 2026
https://www.keeperexchange.org/other-opportunities/
🦒🌿🐒

24/05/2026

🎉NEW PLACEMENT ALERT🎉 - WEEK LEFT TO APPLY!

The DEEP are offering a fantastic 2 day placement with their superb animal team!
A brilliant opportunity to work with an array of species from hundreds of fish and sharks to penguins, reptiles and amphibians!
Learn how their animal welfare team provide highest standards of husbandry, manage life support systems and enormous mixed species tanks and more!
To get the chance to work with these fantastic animals whilst working with their dedicated and experienced keepers, register with us and get your application in!
* Minimum experience requirement is 1 year of full time animal keeping experience in the UK and Ireland. *
🦈🐟🐙
Deadline for application is 31/05/2026
Placement dates: 14-15th July 2026
https://www.keeperexchange.org/.../2-day-placement.../

13/05/2026

🎉NEW PLACEMENT ALERT🎉

Chester Zoo are offering a fantastic 2 day placement working with their exciting collection of carnivores!

A brilliant opportunity to work with a wide range of species including Snow leopard, Giant otter, Jaguar, Fossa, African painted dogs, Cheetah, Palawan binturong, Sumatran tiger and two species of bear!

The successful applicant individual will gain insight into their husbandry routines, conservation efforts and our involvement in breeding programmes and have chance to learn about everything from breeding to enclosure design

To get the chance to work with these fantastic animals whilst working with their dedicated and experienced keepers, register with us and get your application in!

* Minimum experience requirement is 1 year of full time animal keeping experience in the UK and Ireland. *
https://www.keeperexchange.org/vacancy/zoo-keeper-carnivores-2/
🦁🐅🐻
Deadline for application is 07/06/2026
Placement dates: 20th - 21st July 2026

08/05/2026

🎉NEW PLACEMENT ALERT🎉

Watatunga Wildlife Reserve are offering an exciting 3 day placement working with their diverse collection of deer, antelope and birds!

A brilliant opportunity to work with an exciting range of ungulates including bongo, Philippine spotted deer and water buffalo with a collection with a unique approach to managing these species within a huge reserve!

This is a great chance for a candidate to get involved with and learn a wide range of husbandry practices and management for these species within a naturalistic hands off environment. The placement will also involve a unique opportunity to support the running of the BIAZA deer conference and attend some of the presentations!

To get the chance to work with these fantastic animals whilst working with their dedicated and experienced keepers, register with us and get your application in!
* Minimum experience requirement is 1 year of full time animal keeping experience in the UK and Ireland. *

🦌🫎🦃
Deadline for application is 28/05/2026
Placement dates: 3rd - 5th June 2026
https://www.keeperexchange.org/vacancy/animal-rounds-placement/

08/05/2026

Wishing the incomparable Sir David Attenborough a fantastic 100th birthday today!
An incredible inspiration to zookeepers young and old everywhere, including all of the KEEP team.

Thank you for being the face and voice for so many species from the minute to the massive, that so many of us now care for daily whether to help save the species or raise awareness about their existence.

🎉😍

07/05/2026

KEEPer Skills Workshop Coming soon...! 👀

Want to develop or learn a new keeping skill and network with like-minded animal keepers? If so then this could be the opportunity for you!

“We don’t know who you are, we don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you we don’t have the money, but what we do have are a very particular set of zookeeping skills. Skills I have acquired over some very long careers, skills that could make this workshop for a zookeeper or aspiring zookeeper like you...”

Do you have any of these zookeeping skills you think could be an asset to the workshop, if so we'd love to hear from you!

In the meantime more info coming soon!

03/05/2026

The small but mighty team at our friends Battersea Park Children's Zoo have hosted another(!) KEEP placement and shared their knowledge and ideas with with Gemma from White Post Farm! 🧡👏

Full review coming soon 😃

This week our keeper team had the pleasure of welcoming Keeper Gemma from White Post Farm as part of the Keeper Educational Exchange Programme - KEEP in collaboration with Small Zoo Network 🐾

Zookeepers are at the forefront of maintaining the highest standards of welfare, conservation and education within modern zoos. Keeper swap days are a great way to share knowledge and learn from eachothers experiences! 🐝

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Gemma for getting stuck in to BPCZ life and very much becoming part of the team! 💚🐒

28/04/2026

🎉NEW PLACEMENT ALERT🎉

ZSL London Zoo are offering a fantastic 3 day placement with their brilliant primates and predators team!

A brilliant opportunity to work with an exciting range of species including Western lowland gorillas, Sumatran tigers, Diana monkeys, African painted dogs and Hanuman langurs!

This is a great chance for a candidate to learn the husbandry practices and management of these species while also working with a diverse and experienced team. The candidate may get involved in in various husbandry routines, silaging browse for their primates, observe husbandry training and the sharing of ideas and knowledge!

To get the chance to work with these fantastic animals whilst working with their dedicated and experienced keepers, register with us and get your application in!
* Minimum experience requirement is 1 year of full time animal keeping experience in the UK and Ireland. *
🦈🐟🐙
Deadline for application is 15/05/2026
Placement dates: 23rd - 25th June 2026
https://www.keeperexchange.org/vacancy/primates-predators-keeper/

22/04/2026

📣NEW PLACEMENT ALERT! 📣

Chester Zoo are offering a 2 day placement with their fantastic giraffe and hoof-stock team!

You will get to experience working with a brilliant range of hoofed species including their Nubian giraffe herd and a number of other hoof-stock species in the new Heart of Africa zone as well as other amazing species okapi, babirusa and Malayan tapirs!
To get the chance to work with these fantastic animals whilst working with their dedicated and experienced keepers, register with us and get your application in!

The giraffe and hoof-stock team are happy to flexible with the focus of the placement can be adapted to the needs of the applicant, so if you're okapi obsessed or get hysterical over hogs they can sort you out! (Dropping hints over your preference in your cover letter is a good way to get this sorted!)

To get the chance to work with these amazing animals whilst working with their dedicated and experienced keepers, register with us and get your application in - please remember to attach your cv and a covering letter to explain why you want to take part!

* Minimum experience requirement is 1 year of full time animal keeping experience in the UK and Ireland. *
🦒🦒🦒
Deadline for application is 20/07/2026
Placement dates: 2nd-3rd September 2026
https://www.keeperexchange.org/vacancy/chester-zoo-giraffe-team-hoofstock/