Blog: Terri Hill - giving back to the zoo industry

Terri Elizabeth Hill reflects on her incredible career in the zoo community, including 6 years on the Board of BIAZA…

Did I ever think when I left school at the age of 15 with just 1 GCSE to my name! that I would be writing a blog for the most amazing association? Did I think I would get the opportunity to work alongside the most inspirational people and incredible animals?  Absolutely not is the answer.  You see I wasn’t very interested in school, but I was very interested in sport, and horses and all other animals, but horses held my heart and interest, so there was where my priorities went. 

Roll forwards a few years, I qualified as a riding instructor in a few areas, competed a bit and developed a livery yard in the Bristol area, and here lies my good fortune, I met an incredible gentleman by the name of Dr Bryan Carroll as I was looking after his lovely wifes horse.  You see Bryan was the then deputy director of Bristol Zoo, and he introduced me to BIAZA, as by then I was very curious about zebras, well roll on some more years…… I joined BIAZA and ABWAK (Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) I went to university and studied a part time, mainly distant learning, foundation science degree course!  I attended a lot of meetings, chatted to lots of inspirational people and kept going, you see I didn’t realise how many people decide they would like to keep exotics but don’t really go about it with dedication and longevity in mind, well I did, I was determined that keeping zebras and finding out all about them, was for me, and so the lovely, generous people of the zoological world realised that I was serious and they accepted me and helped me.  I started off learning at Longleat, and from there in I visited as many zoos and parks that had Plains Zebra in the UK as I could, and roll on a few more years, lots of meetings and chatting! Later and some zebras arrived at my yard!  by now I have a DWA (dangerous wild animal licence) had designed my own enclosure and was just a tad excited and scared! 

Well, here we are 14 years later, and I have just finished two terms of 3 years as a trustee of BIAZA, yes me with dyslexia, ADHD and Aspergers, all these years later I got to sit on the board of trustees with the most incredible group of knowledgeable people.  Meetings were always an educational experience, everyone had the ability to engage, to listen and to teach.  Listening to your peers’ opinions, experiences and ideas, drives your own opinions and ideas and leads you to gaining better understanding and experiences.  In my wildest dreams I never thought I would be a trustee; I didn’t even really know what one did!  Now I have done 6 years on the BIAZA board, and I am a trustee of Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm and a trustee and vice chair of Nature’s-SAFE charity.  Giving back to the industry that has taught me so much about our living and dying world, has inspired me and excites me every day is an honour.  I have made friends for life, but I have also proven my worth as an industry expert, I worked hard, learnt how to deal with things that are difficult to me, like reading! I have not really learnt how to say no!  lol.  I actually love saying yes, I love waking up every day and being in an industry that is not easy, that challenges your thought process every single day, every decision I make, I take a step back and look at the moral and ethics of that decision, and that is courtesy of a talk I listened to by Shelia Pankhurst at a BIAZA conference. I could list an entire word count of names of people that have helped and inspired me, but I may get told off for not engaging you as best as I can! ;)

To sum up my blog, if you ever wondered what it is like to work in the zoological world and if there are opportunities for everyone, well let me tell you, it is the most incredible, inclusive, sharing and inspirational world you could get involved in.  It will not come along and land on your lap!  You must prove your worth, like you do in all aspects of life, but if you are prepared to work hard, listen and learn you will be rewarded in more ways than I can tell you. 

I hope you have been left feeling uplifted after reading a little bit about my story and what a great community BIAZA supports.

- Terri Elizabeth Hill

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions