IFRE Volunteers

Volunteer Abroad with Animals

Check out these volunteer opportunities to save endangered animal species in countries around the world.

  • Travel with a real purpose – your time and effort will make a lasting difference.
  • Volunteer with a friend or sign up alone – either way, you’ll meet lots of new people and have an amazing time.
  • Unparalleled high reviews and ratings, Guaranteed lowest program fees in the US – starting from $100 - $200 per week.
  • 18 countries, 200 projects and thousands of happy volunteers since 2006,. Contact us for more information.
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Best Affordable Volunteer Abroad with animals

Do you dream about volunteering with animals abroad? Would you like to lend a helping hand to animal conservation while traveling abroad? IFRE offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities with animals abroad to provide vital support that local people and various organizations need.

IFRE has many amazing and affordable conservation projects across 18 different countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, South America and Central America.

If you think you can make a difference to the wellbeing of animals across the world, then join our animal care-focused projects ranging from Elephant Conservation to Monkey projects, and various other programs, such as education, childcare, healthcare, HIV/AIDS awareness, animal care, environmental conservation, construction, community development, women’s empowerment.

All road leads to IFRE, a place where volunteers come to change lives? Not only the lives of others, but their own, too. Become a part of this movement and ask for more now!

Alexandra Miller

These last six weeks of volunteering have been a truly amazing and life-changing & very wonderful experience for me.

Alexandra Miller

- USA

Leslie Slade

I had an excellent time, better than I ever could have imagined. Other volunteers were so nice and willing to help.

Leslie Slade

- Vermont, USA

Don Maddocks

I had a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to teach children of all different ages.I am sad to leave!

Don Maddocks

- USA

Manko Blakely

My volunteer experience with IFRE has been unforgettable. It has opened my mind & heart. Staffs were very helpful.

Manko Blakely

- Germany

Benefits of joining IFRE’s volunteer abroad with animal conservation programs

The benefits of volunteering are long lasting, staying with you for a lifetime. Whatever the reason, the element that matters the most is the feeling that you are giving back to society. This is satisfying opportunity. Listed below are some of the benefits of volunteering with animals abroad:

Volunteering gives a sense of accomplishment

The gesture of conserving animals gives a rare sense of accomplishment, which only a volunteering project can provide. Unlike office jobs, you’ll know that your work is helping change lives. It’s common for volunteers to discover a new hobby or passion, while volunteering.

Volunteering connects you with nature

One of the benefits of volunteer work with animals is the impact on the wildlife. Volunteering allows you to connect with nature and make it better. The smallest day-to-day tasks can make a real difference to the lives of people, animals, and organizations in need.

Volunteering can improve your career options

Whether you’re studying or considering a career change, volunteering abroad with animal’s can help you get experience in your area of interest. Even if you’re not planning on changing careers, volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice important skills.

Or, if you are looking for a career change, try out a new career without making a long-term commitment.

Volunteering with the right organization boosts your career.

You’re donating your valuable time, so it’s important that you enjoy and benefit from your volunteering with animals program abroad. You should always make sure that the experience is right for your skills, your goals, and the time you want to spend.

All the good organizations will make sure that, whatever project you are in, ultimately it best suits your future engagements, catapulting your career to newer heights.

IFRE’s volunteer abroad with animal conservation program

IIFRE has various affordable, reputable, and well-organized volunteer work with animal’s abroad programs that cater to different interests, budgets, time constraints, and personal travel goals. It has something for everyone to choose from!

Desert Elephants

The deserts of Namibia are one of the most unforgiving places to survive on this earth,  especially for the elephants, who reside here in huge numbers. Growing competition with humans over scarce water resources  is the primary reason for  conflicts.

Therefore, IFRE has created the volunteering with animal’s abroad project to help in the conservation of the desert elephants, to help them coexist with humans.

When you join this voluntary working with animals project, you will be a part of long term initiative, which includes building protective structures around communal water points, creating additional water points for elephants, assisting with and teaching farmers skills, keeping track of elephant movements, distribution, and compiling identikits on herds and individuals.

This will be an amazing experience, doing things, such as elephant patrolling to spending nights in the forested base camp. Your efforts will increase the chance of healthy survival of both the elephant population as well as the local farmers for a long time ahead.

Save our wildlife (Namibia)

Are you looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime? Do you like vast unending stretches of diverse landscapes? If you're interested in working in a conservation program that helps the endangered cheetah, as well as other big cats and wildlife, then this is the project to be in.

Join IFRE's volunteering work abroad with animals program to helping these wild animals by rescuing them and providing rehabilitation in a safer, secured and more promising environment. This project is more than just a wildlife sanctuary, as the volunteers here get access to experience a wide range of activities based on their interests and skills.

The volunteers will be involved in activities, such as food preparation, animal feeding, habitat maintenance. You will also get hands-on-experience in assisting veterinary staff in conducting minor operations, animal health checks, collect researched data on rehabilitated animals, and monitor the released carnivores that are re-introduced into the wild.

Also, you will be  raising funds that help provide employment, healthcare education, and accommodation to the bushman community as well as the orphaned and injured African wildlife.

This volunteering project abroad with animals project is a rewarding experience, providing a deep sense of achievement, alongside ensuring a good safe and  promising habitat for these wild lives to increase their chances of survival.

Monkey Project (South Africa)

Monkeys (primates) of different species, once occupied the vast stretches of the earth for centuries in peace and harmony. But now, about one third of the world’s primates are critically endangered or vulnerable, especially the orphaned, injured, and abused Vervet monkey population. Therefore, a project named " Vervet Monkey specialists" has been created to rehabilitate these primates.

For this reason IFRE’s volunteer work with animals abroad program is directed towards helping these monkeys live a safe life in the environment best suited for their peaceful existence. When you  join this volunteering abroad with animals program, your primary goal is not only helping with the everyday running of the center, but also to assist with educating people on monkeys, and help with the release process.

As a volunteer, you will be taking care of the injured and sick animals, assisting with measurements, and filling in report forms on admission, personal caring, preparing meals, assisting in building enclosures, and being involved in the monkeys assessment after their release into the wild (including keeping track of them). Saving these animals from various threats such as deforestation, poaching and fragmentation will be life-changing experience.

Private game farm (South Africa)

Did you ever dream of becoming a ranger, stretching far and wide with the animals? Are you interested in  traveling?

IFRE’s volunteering on wild life conservation project abroad involves animal counts, data collection of bird life and reserve maintenance. You’ll make a great impact to the  the wildlife.

joining this voluntary work with animals abroad project is a stimulating, and  practical experience, that focuses  upon the daily operations of a private game reserve. You will  be trained in the management of the reserve and will be taken behind the scenes.

Your project is situated in the Lowveld of the Limpopo province. Here you will be learning about the functions of a private game reserve. Other activities include erosion control techniques, anti-poaching, road maintenance, species counts, alien plant control, and fence maintenance.

The project will give you a better understanding of the bush life experience, bringing you in close contact with  nature, wildlife resources, and the methods to generate revenue that can be used for conservation and preservation. 

Elephant orphanage (Pinnawala)

Are you interested in Elephants? ? Do you want to travel to Sri Lanka?

Come Join IFRE’s volunteer work with animals abroad conservation project in Sri Lanka to protect the habitat from destruction, fragmentation, and human encroachment. Work with us to save these endangered species!

To be a part of this volunteer work with animals abroad initiative in Pinnawala Sri Lanka specific qualifications and skills are not required. What is needed is your love, dedication and passion to work with  elephants, attending to their daily needs and ensuring in every possible way that they are healthy and safe at all times.

You will be helping the mahouts (elephant handlers) with various tasks, like cleaning the sheds, mucking out the elephants enclosures and preparing milk for bottle feeding. You will be also working in the elephant orphanage in the Pinnawala breeding sanctuary for the rescued, injured, and  abused wild elephants.

This rare opportunity can be a life changing experience for you, that will in turn provide these gentle giants love, care. attention and longevity that they have been deprived off.

Elephant Conservation (Thailand)

Surin is known to the world as the Elephant province and is home to over 400 elephants that roamed the forests with freedom. They were once used by the farmers for logging. Ever since logging was outlawed, these elephants  have now become obsolete and useless for the elephant owners.

This means they are either sold, or forcefully taken to the city streets to beg for money from  tourists, which is illegal and harmful for the elephants. This is an alarming situation that needs to be changed.

Due to this IFRE has created a volunteer opportunity with animals abroad project that focuses on promoting elephant care and  conservation, and to teach the locals, as well as the mahouts(elephant owners) about the  importance of elephant protection in Thailand.

There are no specific skills or experience required to join this project, you only need to have a passionate drive and love for animals.

Your role in this volunteering programs abroad with animals involve interacting with the elephants, washing them, feeding them, and at times, playing with them too.

Also, you will be supporting the organization with administrative work, working on conservation efforts, fundraising and researching further resources if need be. If you plan to make a future career in animal welfare, then this is the  kind of hands-on-experience opportunity you need!

You will also get to enjoy the natural beauty and culture of Thailand, and give these animals a promising future.

Turtle Project (Osa Peninsula)

The sea turtle population in the Osa peninsula, Costa Rica is dwindling at an alarming rate. The turtles are on the verge of extinction. To stop this from happening, conservation measures are required to protect the nesting sea turtle population and to  safeguard them from poachers, and  other dangers.

Therefore, IFRE’s volunteer work with animals abroad program works alongside communities to introduce and adopt various means of management strategies to help the turtles thrive.

While joining this volunteering with animals abroad conservation project in Costa Rica, your primary goal is  to assist and support the local conservation efforts of protecting the nesting sites, incubation, and the releasing of the hatchlings.

You will also be  patrolling of the nesting sites, keeping the turtles safe from poachers, recording data about the turtles, keeping predators away, educating the locals on turtle conservation, trail and beach maintenance, and providing help to the organizations in daily administrative tasks.

Your experience and conservation efforts will help strengthen the sea turtle populations.

Besides the volunteer abroad with animals conservation programs, IFRE offers a great variety of interesting volunteer programs, including under 18 volunteering opportunities, teaching opportunities abroad, adventure trips, family volunteer opportunities, community service trips for high school students, and animal conservation projects and more.

Join as a volunteer of IFRE to get hands on life changing experience, while traveling the world!