Animal Welfare in Dunedin
What you'll learn
The course is the same online course wherever you study from. Its modules:
- 1. Subject 1 – Animal Healthcare
- 2. Subject 2: Animal Wellbeing
Animal & wildlife near Dunedin
Places in and around Dunedin where you can see this field in action.
Orokonui Ecosanctuary (opens in a new tab)
A 307-hectare block of coastal Otago forest near Waitati, enclosed by a 1.9-metre predator-proof fence. South Island kākā, Haast tokoeka kiwi, South Island robins and takahē have been reintroduced, and tuatara and jewelled geckos also live there.
Visitors can observe reintroduced native birds and reptiles in a fenced mainland island, and the sanctuary relies heavily on volunteers for tasks such as lizard monitoring and supplementary feeding.
Pukekura/Taiaroa Head and the Royal Albatross Centre (opens in a new tab)
The headland at the tip of the Otago Peninsula is a nature reserve with the only mainland royal albatross breeding colony, around 10,000 seabirds, a little penguin stronghold and a fur seal breeding site. The Royal Albatross Centre is run by the Otago Peninsula Trust, founded in 1967 as New Zealand's first charitable conservation trust.
A place to watch seabird breeding behaviour and see how a sensitive colony is managed alongside public visits, keeping the required distance from wildlife.
Dunedin Wildlife Hospital (opens in a new tab)
A hospital for sick and injured native wildlife that opened in January 2018 at the Otago Polytechnic School of Veterinary Nursing. Hoiho (yellow-eyed penguins) are its main patients, and it also treats other native birds, seals and sea lions.
Shows what clinical care for native wildlife looks like in practice; the trust behind it lists volunteer roles through Volunteer South.
Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust (opens in a new tab)
A Dunedin-based not-for-profit that works to protect hoiho, one of the world's rarest penguins, by protecting nesting reserves and reforesting coastline.
A source of current information on hoiho decline and on-the-ground habitat work for anyone studying seabird or wildlife conservation.
Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group and Predator Free Dunedin (opens in a new tab)
After about 15 years of community work led by these two groups, the Otago Peninsula was declared possum-free in early March 2026.
A local, recent example of community pest eradication; DOC notes that groups like these always need volunteers.
NZ Marine Studies Centre, Portobello (opens in a new tab)
The University of Otago's marine education centre at 185 Hatchery Road, Portobello, with touch tanks and displays of local sea life. It is open to pre-booked schools and groups only.
Groups can book to see local marine species up close and learn about marine research carried out at Portobello.
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More for Dunedin
- Animal Welfare: full course page
- Everything for students in Dunedin
- Compare all courses from Dunedin
- Animal Welfare in Christchurch
- Animal Welfare in Wellington
Sources for the local information on this page
- orokonui.nz/
- predatorfreenz.org/stories/volunteers-vital-orokonui/
- sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1383-orokonui-ecosanctuary-a-mainland-island
- doc.govt.nz/taiaroa-head
- albatross.org.nz/about/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunedin_Wildlife_Hospital
- volunteersouth.org.nz/organisation-profile/1524-the-wildlife-hospital-trust
- yellow-eyedpenguin.org.nz/
- blog.doc.govt.nz/2026/03/26/how-one-man-did-his-bit-to-help-make-otago-peninsula-possum-free/
- kotuia.org.nz/organisation-page/org-page-3007/
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