Volunteering

Detailed Specs for the next project where we have vacancies:

Please Click the button to the right

Projects throughout 2008 - click here for our timetable

We are a 100% volunteer run group, and to carry out our work we need vets, nurses & trappers. We rely on volunteers - last year volunteers put in more than 5000 unpaid hours which if paid at the UK market rate would have cost over £80,000. We need

Vet & nurse volunteers: Vets need to be 18 months + graduated, (4yrs+ for Workshop trips), experienced, surgically capable,calm & easygoing. They should registered to practice in the UK or the country where we are working. Nurses should be VNs, or have at least 2 years experienced unqualified. You should be able to put in IVs, give IV & IM injections, be familiar with drugs/doses, and if possible experience of cat castration.

Trappers need to have worked with animals professionally or have a substantial track record of cat trapping voluntarily and be totally pragmatic about what they are doing. They need to be able to drive safely & be able and happy to work odd and unsocial hours. Most importanly, they need strong people skills, imagination and initiative. Please note trappers will normally be assigned to wok in a pair with an experienced collegue. We do not allow people who have never done it before to work without guidance. 

Trainers willing to join our TNR workshop projects. This is a role suitable for more experienced vets with public speaking skills, experience with stray and feral cats, the patience to train and support inexperienced vets and aneasygoing nature.

We do provide accommodation, but as we are dedicated to helping as many animals as possible and spending donations wisely and equipping teams properly and safely, we cannot fund flights or meals on short-haul projects. Some assistance may be available on longer haul workshops.

At present we do not accept UK vet students/new graduates nor MRCVS certificate students who want to gain practical experience onto projects where feral animals are neutered. Training facilities on our trips are prioritised to local vets in the area where we work who need to learn new techniques rather than for British students who already get good opportunities at home.

All volunteers must understand that they will be working in field hospitals with a high throughput and very different from work at home. If you are reliable, prompt, tactful, dedicated, flexible and willing to muck in and understand the pressures faced by your colleagues and overseas charity volunteers then get in touch. If you are interested in joining a trip, please check your time off & finance situation first and if you can make it and are committed, use the downloadable form, as an attachment or in text form in an email to IANMACFARLAINE@YAHOO.CO.UK

Vets will need to carry a copy of their qualification certificates and certificate of good standing from the RCVS/local Collegio at the start of the project. If you are a WVS member, please approach them first so they are aware that you want to make the placement - if you do approach us directly without informing WVS you may not be eligible for their financial assistance and it also makes their organisational workload harder.

Once you have made contact, we will advise of you of flight times you should aim for and indicate to you once the project is confirmed and it is appropriate to book. As long as you book once we have confirmed, we will reimburse you should the project be cancelled.  The nature of our projects, the work itself and the temporary facilties mean that they may not be appropriate for volunteers with certain disabilities - but we welcome applications from volunteers with disabilties and will try our hardest to work with you to orgainise adapt our projects for you where we can - please get in touch !!!.