Animal Parties in Bedfordshire

Teaching Talons (The Animal Ambassadors) provide multi-award-winning animal encounters and mobile zoo, run by professional zookeepers. They provide educational animal encounters at a variety of events and locations and supply some detailed insights based on their experience on what to check should you want to hire a similar provider.

What do you need to know from an organiser in order to provide a comprehensive quote?

To provide an accurate and correct quote straight away please make sure we know the exact type of booking you are after (eg. a child's party, a group booking, a public event etc.). Other useful information is how long we would be needed for and the number and age of the children. If it is for a public event, please give us a rough idea of footfall, opening hours and if we would need an indoor or outdoor pitch. An exact location also allows us to include travel in our quote- with no nasty surprises! Let us know the date and time you are after and where possible, back-up dates in case your preferred date is already taken. Again, if you have full flexibility of timings on your preferred date- let us know!

What advice would you give to a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

Always double-check that any animal provider you are interested in has public liability insurance and an Animals Activities License (AAL). They should also be able to provide you with proof and copies of this documentation and should have a full risk assessment that they can show to you. Licensing changed in April 2019 for animal parties and events- companies without the new AAL are now operating illegally and should be avoided. It is also a good idea to look into the level of the staff's experience and their policies on animal welfare. This ensures that the staff are experienced enough to handle the animals correctly, safely and appropriately and to give an informative experience. Experienced and qualified staff are also a good indicator of the quality of animal care and husbandry.

Please tell us a little bit about how and why you started the business.

Teaching Talons Ltd. was set up in 2014 as a family run business. I previously worked as a zookeeper, with over 10 years of experience in the animal industry at three different animal collections and with a degree in animal behaviour and training. After becoming more involved in the educational side of animal keeping- I decided to merge my two passions for both teaching and working with animals into creating my own educational animal encounters company, or mobile zoo! I wanted to be able to bring animals into everyone's lives and to teach the young and old alike about our incredible planet and its inhabitants!

Please tell us about a booking you've had through Add to Event, how did it go? Would you recommend us to others?

We have had several new customers find us through Add to Event. They all loved the service we provided and two, (which are provisions for groups with additional needs) are now regular customers. A highlight would be our bookings for animal encounters for the West Hants Friendship Group for the elderly. We spend an hour with them every quarter, with a variety of animals to meet, touch and hold. It is so rewarding to share our time and experience with them- and a few children from a local school get picked to join in on each visit! This customer would not have found us if we didn't use Add to Event and it is definitely worth listing your services with them!