Don't let this happen to YOU ... - Animal Training Academy

Are you compromising your values … ?

For us working with the most positive and less intrusive animal training methodology there does, unfortunately, exist pressure sometimes to use more aversive techniques. The conversations and/or situations we sometimes find ourselves in have the potential to confuse … as others try to convince us to do things we know are not right. To add to this we risk damaging relationships with our friend’s families and colleagues as we resist the pressure to use aversive techniques with the animals in our care…

Consequently, we have to make sure we place ourselves around a supportive network & community as sometimes these pressures can get the better of us! … Listen to the following podcast hack/audio snippet from my episode with Louise Ginman as she shares her experience in this area.

CLICK HERE for the full podcast episode with Louise Ginman

It can be scary sometimes though to do what you know is right. For ATA member Kelli Inglis she got to the point in her Zoo job where enough was enough and after listening to a podcast episode from Animal Training Academy (where I spoke to Hillary Hankey)… Kelli made the decision to leave.

PODCAST HACK/SNIPPET FROM THE HILLARY HANKEY EPISODE

CLICK HERE for the full podcast episode with Hillary Hankey

INTERVIEW WILL KELLI INGLIS

Q; So basically, you listened to the podcast with Hilary Hankey and then decided the following day to hand your resignation in at your zoo job?

That was exactly what happened. I’d been very unhappy in my job for a while, to a point in which my mental health was being severely affected, there were so many reasons to my unhappiness and so many times I said I wanted to leave but I never really tried to look for another job. Then I listened to the podcast and wrote my resignation letter that night.

Q: What about listening to this podcast helped you to come to that decision?

In her podcast, Hilary says “I got pushed away from my beginnings as a trainer when I started to work for these bigger organisations, and it was really cool getting to work new birds and better birds and all kinds of different animals, which should be every trainer’s dream, but it just wasn’t enough. I had very little ability to explore new ideas and couldn’t push the boundaries as a trainer, which was exactly the way that I started and I felt like I was having to make personal sacrifices for my values and ethics and it really challenged my beliefs.” For me this really hit home, this was really how I was feeling, she put everything I was thinking into words and it was a huge wake-up call. My first few zoos jobs were in small family run zoos, where you really felt like a part of the family and could really push yourself to learn. I learned how to train using positive reinforcement and was loving life. I got offered a job in a big name zoo with a great reputation and I thought “wow what a great opportunity, there’s loads of new species to work with and I can really push myself to learn more”. That is not what happened, I just felt like one of the many minions that were there to get a job done

Q: Was this a question of your values and ethics being compromised if you were to stay in the situation you were in, was it a feeling of something missing or was it something else?

It was all of it. My values and ethics were definitely being compromised, I was working to a standard that I really didn’t feel was good enough and I didn’t feel like I was pushing any boundaries or progressing my skills at all. I felt like I was just drifting along, doing my job without really experiencing it anymore. I lost all motivation to do anything as I constantly felt like I was hitting a brick wall every which way I turned.

Q: Where do you think you would be today if you hadn’t found Animal Training Academy and listened to this podcast with Hilary…?

I would probably still be in the same zoo, browsing the internet for other jobs but not really knowing what to do. I thank Ryan and ATA so much for everything I have learned and everything I have managed to achieve due to the amazing support.

Make sure you find your TRIBE!

If you want to ensure that you are consistently surrounded by the support, inspiration, and community that you need to succeed with your training then an ATA membership is just what you need… listen to what others are saying … (this is a Screenshot from Facebook earlier this month when I asked some members permission to share some of their videos publicly!)