Volunteering Thailand, wildlife rescue centre
| country: | Thailand |
| departures: | Placements last from 2-12 weeks and can start on any date throughout the year |
| price: | From £599 (2 weeks) - £1575 (12 weeks) excluding flights. Price includes accommodation and main meals. There is a minimum age of 18 for this trip |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
You will work as a volunteer at a Wildlife Rescue Centre, helping to maintain the Centre and care for an amazing variety of wild animals.
The wildlife rescue centre's aim is to save wild animals and their habitat from destruction. The project focuses on rehabilitating captive or domesticated animals, and in some cases preparing them for a reintroduction to their natural habitats. The Wildlife Rescue Centre currently houses over 200 rescued animals including gibbons, various species of macaque, lorises, civets, bears, a crocodile and a tiger.
In Thailand huge tracts of forest are disappearing at an alarming rate, destroying the habitats of many species of flora and fauna. Animals are poached for meat, medicine and the illegal pet trade. Animals captured in their infancy and sold as pets are often abandoned or chained up when they reach maturity and become less controllable. As well as these unwanted pets, other animals are confiscated from appalling conditions, where they are sometimes kept drugged or abused and used as entertainment for the tourist trade. It is a sad story, but wonderful to see what the Centre is achieving and how these animals are now cared for.
The Centre is based on temple grounds near Thayang in the South of Thailand, about 100 miles South of Bangkok and about 15 miles from the beaches of Cha Am and Hua Hin. We can arrange a taxi to pick you up at Bangkok airport or your hotel and take you to the centre. Placements include a detailed information booklet, travel advice and assistance, accommodation and all main meals.
There will usually be about 10-15 volunteers at the Centre at one time and you will all live in shared rooms on-site. After work you can relax at the Centre, socialising with other volunteers - or you can walk 5 minutes into the small town where you can check emails, get laundry done and meet some of the locals. Volunteers also regularly club together and organise a taxi for an evening trip to Hua Hin to enjoy the entertainment in this bigger town. On days off you are free to explore the local area or visit the excellent beaches which are about 15 miles away.
The wildlife rescue centre's aim is to save wild animals and their habitat from destruction. The project focuses on rehabilitating captive or domesticated animals, and in some cases preparing them for a reintroduction to their natural habitats. The Wildlife Rescue Centre currently houses over 200 rescued animals including gibbons, various species of macaque, lorises, civets, bears, a crocodile and a tiger.
In Thailand huge tracts of forest are disappearing at an alarming rate, destroying the habitats of many species of flora and fauna. Animals are poached for meat, medicine and the illegal pet trade. Animals captured in their infancy and sold as pets are often abandoned or chained up when they reach maturity and become less controllable. As well as these unwanted pets, other animals are confiscated from appalling conditions, where they are sometimes kept drugged or abused and used as entertainment for the tourist trade. It is a sad story, but wonderful to see what the Centre is achieving and how these animals are now cared for.
The Centre is based on temple grounds near Thayang in the South of Thailand, about 100 miles South of Bangkok and about 15 miles from the beaches of Cha Am and Hua Hin. We can arrange a taxi to pick you up at Bangkok airport or your hotel and take you to the centre. Placements include a detailed information booklet, travel advice and assistance, accommodation and all main meals.
a day in the life of a volunteer
So what will you be doing every week? You will have four main tasks: - assisting the caretakers - buying food at the market, preparing food, feeding
- building and maintaining the housing for the animals
- daily cleaning of the cages
- giving talks to tourists
There will usually be about 10-15 volunteers at the Centre at one time and you will all live in shared rooms on-site. After work you can relax at the Centre, socialising with other volunteers - or you can walk 5 minutes into the small town where you can check emails, get laundry done and meet some of the locals. Volunteers also regularly club together and organise a taxi for an evening trip to Hua Hin to enjoy the entertainment in this bigger town. On days off you are free to explore the local area or visit the excellent beaches which are about 15 miles away.
travellers' tales
I had so many fantastic experiences, and the centre itself was in an idyllic area, on the grounds of a Buddhist temple. One highlight was spotting wild elephants in a nearby national park, after dark. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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By volunteering at the Wildlife Rescue Centre you will make a major contribution to the welfare of animals in Thailand. Your time and efforts will help to care for the animals, and the majority of the programme cost will go direct to the Centre providing a critical source of funding for their future work.
On a personal level you will have a unique opportunity to work alongside some incredible wildlife and gain the satisfaction of helping to make a difference to the lives of these animals. In addition to this direct benefit, we try to ensure: Social responsibility - before volunteers depart we provide them with a detailed information pack on the area they will be visiting. We try to educate and encourage our volunteers to understand and respect the local cultures and customs and get involved with local communities. Economic responsibility – the majority of the fee that volunteers pay goes directly to the Wildlife Rescue Centre. The Centre provides employment for many local Thai staff. While volunteers are in-country, we encourage them to buy locally and support local businesses. Environmental responsibility – one of the main negative impacts of our volunteers travelling, is the carbon dioxide created from flights. We work with a 'carbon neutral' charity to help ensure that an amount of carbon is sequestered through tree planting or the promotion of low energy technologies. While our volunteers and customers are overseas, we identify and encourage simple steps to minimise their impact on the local environment. |
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