Students studying Level 2 Animal Care at Bridgwater College’s Cannington Centre recently took part in a behind the scenes tour of the RSPCA Brent Knoll Rescue Centre followed by an educational visit to Seaquarium in Weston-super-Mare. 

During their visit to the RSPCA, the group saw how dogs, cats and other small animals are housed and looked after. They were introduced to an array of different breeds and witnessed how dogs are trained in order to make them suitable for rehoming. A highlight of the visit was the opportunity to help to familiarise three Japanese Chin puppies to different people and smells. To show their appreciation, the students donated food to the RSPCA.

Next the students visited Seaquarium in Weston-super-Mare. The students were able to view more than 30 exhibits including a tropical reef zone with puffer fish, a rainforest zone with piranha and an underwater ocean tunnel with sharks. A presentation about the care of animals in the aquarium and the challenges faced when people do not look after these animals properly opened the group’s eyes to the importance of their actions. The day concluded with a handling session in the ‘Fantastic Phobias’ zone, which helped some of the group to make progress towards facing phobias, enabling them to widen the types of animals they work with, thereby improving their employability.

Student Ricky Dean said,

“It was interesting to see how the RSPCA teach dogs to drop what they have in their mouths and the techniques they use to do this.”

Katie Butcher added,

“I handled a giant snail, I didn’t like it but it’ll help me cope with handling these sorts of animals in a work situation.”

Theresa Stone, Lecturer for Animal Care at Bridgwater College said,

“The students were able to see the reality of what happens when animals are put in a rescue centre and how much is involved in terms of time, money and dedication to ensure that they receive the best possible care. Moving to the aquarium allowed the students to see a completely different sector of the animal care industry and contrast this with what they saw at the RSPCA, helping them progress in their decisions concerning where they would like to work in the future.”