ELI Abroad offers a number of really great internships and volunteer programs geared towards Veterinary students, Pre-Vets, and Vet Techs. These are professional internships that allow you to gain experience in your field.
Argentina*
We have a few options. The first is to work with an animal shelter in Buenos Aires. They take care of Work with an animal sanctuary about 1 hour outside of Buenos Aires. The sanctuary’s mission is to re-home or provide a safe haven for animals that have been rescued from abuse, exploitation or neglect, to change the way people view farm animals, and promote, educate and encourage compassionate cruelty-free living. They take care of 150 rescued animals, including pigs, goats, rabbits, cows, horses, cats, dogs, ducks, guinea pigs, chickens and parrots. Advanced veterinary students can help check up on the animals that need care. 2 week minimum time commitment.
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Cambodia
Work with a local dog and cat rescue in Phnom Penh. The main goals are to offer medical care for street cats and dogs, tackling overpopulation and providing education to the local community. Volunteers work closely with monks at pagodas that struggle with an overpopulation of unwanted cats and dogs. Many of them are sick, injured or both. ELIers visit pagodas regularly to support the monks in their efforts to care for these animals by offering them medical treatment and the option to spay/neuter their animals. Additionally, the rescue operates a small recovery center for sick and injured animals. Here they receive all necessary medical treatments before being rehomed to a caring home. 2 week minimum time commitment.
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Chile*
Internships can be arranged with private veterinary clinics in Santiago focusing on domesticated animals (cats and dogs). 4 week minimum time commitment is required.
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Costa Rica*
We partner with private cat/dog clinics as well as animal shelters/rescues in the San Ramon area. There are opportunities to participate in spay/neuter and vaccination campaigns in some of the surrounding rural communities. The minimum time commitment is 4 weeks.
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Guatemala*
We partner with private cat/dog clinics as well as animal shelters/rescues in the Antigua area. There are opportunities to participate in spay/neuter and vaccination campaigns in some of the surrounding rural communities. The minimum time commitment is 4 weeks.
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Ireland
ELI is proud to offer positions with private veterinarians throughout Dublin. Participants in this program work under the direct supervision of trained professionals, mainly with domesticated animals. Morgan chats about her Veterinary Internship in this interview. The minimum time requirement is 4 weeks, interns can stay as long as 12 weeks. Internships fill up during the summer, so be sure to apply early.
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Nepal
Street Dog and Cat Rescue: ELI partners with a wonderful dog rescue on the outskirts of Kathmandu. It’s an effective privately funded program that offers a world of opportunities for the dedicated dog veterinary student. Interns help with everything from cleaning to assisting the vet or vet techs with pre-op and post-op care and helping perform countless spaying and neutering procedures. Madeleine chats about her time at the rescue this past summer. The minimum time commitment is two weeks.
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New Zealand
In New Zealand we typically partner with private veterinary practices which care for privately owned animals, as well as center/refuge animals, or animals in foster care. The aim is to promote the humane treatment of animals through education, provides news, articles and details of campaigns. Since all internships in New Zealand are customized to each participant there may be other opportunities to work in a more specialized field, for example, with marine animals, livestock, etc. A 6 week minimum time commitment is required.
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Portugal
We currently partner with 2 non-profits in Lisbon that give medical care to abandoned and mistreated animals. Interns and professionals in the field of veterinary medicine are welcome. In this program interns can practice the skills they have acquired during their studies. You will be working side by side with English speaking staff, and overseen by licensed veterinarians. Typical tasks are (but not limited to): Monitoring and discussion of clinical cases, monitoring and support in the consultations, monitoring surgeries, support in treatments (blood samples, treatment of wounds, administering IVs , etc.). Minimum time commitment 4 weeks.
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South Africa
Based in gorgeous Cape Town, there are a number of incredible animal programs from which to choose! Popular options: Work at a cheetah project handling cats and educating the public, intern at their famous aquarium, assist a vet team at a famous exotic bird and monkey sanctuary, and more. Minimum commitment is 8 weeks for these programs. Placements often fill up so we recommend applying early.
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Spain*
ELI places veterinary students with private clinics, rescues, and shelters in and around beautiful Valencia. Minimum stay is 6 weeks for private clinics. Shelters and rescues will generally allow a shorter time commitment.
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Uganda
We partner with an amazing wildlife sanctuary and educational center just outside Kampala. The animals currently living in the center have all been rescued from poachers, illegal trade, or accidents. Interns with this program will start with an intensive training on safe handling methods before taking on the day to day tasks of the internship. 2 week time commitment is required.
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*Please note that all programs in Spain and Latin America require conversational Spanish language skills.
