The LSU Small and Exotic Animals Club had its first meeting on Thursday featuring birds making special guest appearances from the LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Animal sciences junior Layni LeBlanc was inspired to found the organization after learning about chapters at other universities and realizing that the University did not have a recreational club for students interested in animals. Although the University does have a pre-vet club, LeBlanc wanted there to be an organization on campus that welcomed students of all majors and included both social and academic aspects. LeBlanc discovered her fascination with exotic animals while researching turtling and wanted to share that passion with others.
“There wasn’t a general animal science club,” LeBlanc said. “I wanted to give students who aren’t wanting to become vets to still do something that lets them interact with animals. Exotic animal science is really cool, and we didn’t have anything like that.”
LeBlanc connected with other animal sciences majors and gathered a lot of interest.
“Once she mentioned it, I realized it was a genius idea,” said fellow animal sciences junior and social chair Carolyn Tran.
Nutrition and Food Sciences sophomore and club vice president Bryce Franklin shared her enthusiasm.
“I’m not even an animal science major,” Franklin said. “This is something you don’t have to be an animal science person to be a part of. I feel like we really needed that.”
The club has partnered with BREC Zoo to provide opportunities for volunteer work and community involvement. Some other volunteer events they already have planned include working with the Louisiana Bird Observatory to learn about handling wild birds, participating in LSU’s Spay Day and working alongside Raptor Rehab.
Networking is also a key aspect of the organization. Several social events are already in the works, including gameday tailgates and a picnic where people are encouraged to bring their dogs. With the inclusion of different majors, the social events will be an opportunity for students who might not have crossed paths to bond over a mutual interest.
“Our tailgate is our first event, but hopefully we plan to do more,” Tran said.
Although the first meeting featured exotic birds, they plan on having different animals present at its events. One of the club’s goals is to feature a different animal at its meetings, which take place every other week.
“We want to have a live animal at every meeting for students to interact with and to learn about, because that’s the way people learn,” LeBlanc said. “The birds are exotic, but also we’re going to bring a cat to a meeting, a dog to a meeting, things like that.”
Animal sciences sophomore and volunteer chair Leah Prudhomme encouraged anyone who is interested to come to one of their meetings.
“Small and Exotic Animal Club is a great opportunity for those who are interested in a veterinary career and those who aren’t,” Prudhomme said. “This club is for all animal lovers alike. As a volunteer chair, I am so excited to open new doors for students to help out our community and our animals.”
Prudhomme said she was especially eager about the club’s creation because she wanted to learn more about animals when she came to the University but didn’t feel like there were a lot of extracurricular options for that interest.
“I’m excited to bring animal science into perspective to a lot of people,” LeBlanc said. “A lot of people get intimidated if they’re not wanting to go to vet school. We want this to be a place where people can come and have a good time, meet people and get some hands on experience.”
The LSU Small and Exotic Animals Club is still welcoming new members. Meetings will take place every other Thursday at 5 P.M. for the remainder of the semester.
