Animal Care Interns at Graze in Peace gain useful knowledge and hands-on experience in essential and compassionate farm animal care while assisting with the daily and routine care of our 70+ rescued farm animals — including sheep, llamas, goats, turkeys, chickens, large “farm” pigs, and potbelly pigs.
Interns report to the Farm Sanctuary Manager and work closely with our staff and other volunteer assistants to maintain a safe, healthy and nourishing environment for all resident animals. You will learn valuable skills related to animal health and behavior, and work directly with animals not normally encountered in non-sanctuary environments, including elderly and special needs farm animals.
We value and respect the time and help that our interns bring to our programs. We will work closely with you to make sure that you have the hands-on educational experience you desire, and to aid you in pursuing later work in an animal care field, should that be your goal.
Duties and Responsibilities
Daily Animal Care
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- Provide clean water to all animals
- Assist with meal preparation and delivery
- Maintain clean animal shelters and surrounding environements
- Restock feed bins; stack bales of straw, hay and 40-50lb feed bags
- Apply sunscreen to pigs’ ears
Routine Animal Health Checks & Care Assistance
- Assist staff with animal health checks and additional care-taking tasks
- May include assisting with hoof and nail trims, parasite testing and treatments, medication and supplement preparation and administration
- Assist with vet visits and medical procedures, including safely and calmly moving and restraining animals
- Accompany staff on vet visits and rescue operations, as able
Additional Sanctuary Assistance
- Assist staff with administrative and small farm maintenance projects, including:
- Maintaining and updating animal care records
- Researching animal care and enrichment activities
- Educational, outreach and/or social media tasks
- Non-profit sanctuary administrative tasks
General Requirements
- 18 years old or older; a valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and reliable all-weather transportation
- Interest in animal care, veterinary science, animal behavior, nonprofit sanctuary work
- Commitment to the Graze in Peace organization goals and mission
- Strong communication skills
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
- Ability to work in sometimes harsh/all weather conditions
- Able to follow detailed instructions and be extremely mindful and conscientious about your surroundings at all times
- Able to reach objects over your head, and lift and carry 20+ pound bales of hay and 40lb bags of feed with or without accommodation
Specifications
We offer flexible hours and length of internship, as long as applicants work a minimum of 5 shifts/week. This is a part-time unpaid intern position.
- Internships are available year-round and last a minimum of 4 months.
- Work is done 100% on-site and interns must be able to commute and provide their own transportation.
- Covid-19 safety protocols will be strictly enforced according to Maine’s CDC guidelines, including mandatory mask-wearing while in close proximity to all other people, regardless of vaccination status.
Benefits
- Learn valuable hands-on skills and knowledge from sanctuary staff and administration
- Learn from and interact with a variety of sanctuary animal residents
- Work with like-minded people committed to compassionate farm animal care and ending farm animal suffering — all in a beautiful, serene setting