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Overview
Animal handlers handle working animals, monitor their behaviour and welfare, continue training and keep care routines safe for the animal, staff and setting.
In job descriptions, look for animal behaviour, animal welfare, hygiene practices, movement control, exercise activities, nutrition, first aid, enrichment, biosecurity and training of working animals.
Explore this occupation
Open in Job ExplorerWhat the work can involve
Animal handler work is close to the animal’s daily condition. The role can involve handling working animals, reading behaviour, controlling movement, supporting exercise, feeding, hygiene, enrichment and welfare checks.
Skills and specializations
Useful strengths include calm handling, animal behaviour assessment, biosecurity routines, first aid, training methods, nutrition, signs of illness and knowing when veterinary help is needed.
Salary context
Salary context depends on animal species, working-animal setting, welfare responsibility, emergency handling, training duties, weekend or shift care and whether the role includes supervision or specialised animal facilities. This guide does not provide salary amounts.
Career paths
Career paths can move toward senior animal handler, animal trainer, welfare coordinator, kennel or stable lead, veterinary support roles, animal shelter work or specialised care for working animals.
Good to know
Check whether vacancies specify animal species, working animals, feeding routines, movement control, exercise, first aid, biosecurity or training. These details matter more than a broad animal-care title.
Editorial note
This guide is editorial career context. It is not official labour-market statistics or role-specific salary data.
Map overview
Click the map to search for animal handler jobs.
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O*NET relationships
See occupations connected to this ESCO occupation in the official O*NET–ESCO mapping. The relationship type comes from the source and is not a ranking or recommendation.
O*NET relationships: 1
Animal Trainers
39-2011.00
O*NET occupation is broader
The O*NET occupation covers a broader field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETSource and method
These relationships come from the official European Commission O*NET–ESCO crosswalk.
Relationship direction: O*NET occupation to ESCO occupation.
Several O*NET occupations can point to the same ESCO occupation, and one O*NET occupation can point to several ESCO occupations.
AltoTrail preserves the source relationship type. The order is technical and does not show which occupation is best, most relevant or recommended.
AltoTrail validates and presents the source relationships without adding ranking or recommendation semantics.
Alternative labels
Occupation group
Pet groomers and animal care workers (5164)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/1ee1b792-4d5f-4555-be4e-ce7e4c05d1a9 |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 5164.2 |
| ISCO group | 5164 |
| Concept type | Occupation |