Helga Happ

Helga Happ (born January 3, 1951 ) is an Austrian expert on reptiles and poisonous animals and director of the Happ reptile zoo .

Life

Based on her wish to become a kindergarten teacher , Happ trained as a teacher at the Federal Institute for Kindergarten Education (then BAKIP). She then worked for five years in a model kindergarten in Feldkirchen before completing an apprenticeship as a teacher for mentally handicapped children. She then taught for ten years in a special school for the severely disabled and later switched to an integration kindergarten in Klagenfurt . As a supervisor, Happ regularly visited the Happ reptile zoo with her protégés, the director of which, Friedrich Happ, she married in 1987. After the death of her husband in 2000, Helga Happ took over the reptile zoo as managing director.

Expert in reptiles and poisonous animals

In addition to her work in the reptile zoo, Happ is often called to work with exotic animals within Austria. The Happ reptile zoo usually serves as a reception camp for missions with exposed exotic species. Due to a lack of space, some of the animals taken in are given to private individuals or other zoos. According to the Austrian Animal Welfare Act, the state of Carinthia is obliged to pay contributions to the reptile zoo. According to the Vice Mayor of Klagenfurt Christian Scheider (FPÖ), this does not happen.

Awards

• Federal Animal Protection Prize 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Written interview with Helga Happ
2. ↑ Ten times more missions for the reptile zoo
3. ↑ In action for snakes & Co.