What is demeanour and why would we measure it? Demeanour is defined as “outward behaviour or bearing”. When looking at the demeanour of an animal, we are referring to the outward expression of how that animal is feeling and expressing itself at a given moment. Assessing demeanour is something that animal care staff will generally […]
Measuring Demeanour- A Qualitative Tool to Assess Animal Welfare Read More »
Vultures are birds of prey that have several unique and recognizable characteristics including feeding on carrion and their trademark “bald” heads, but one of their most recognizable characteristics is their flight patterns. In Ontario, Canada, where I live, it is extremely common to drive by a farmer’s field in the summer and see several vultures
Learn to Soar- Dealing with Burnout in the Animal Care Industry Read More »
Are you Leaving Welfare on the Table? When caring for any animal in captivity, we all know it is imperative to keep their current welfare state in the back of your mind at all times, constantly looking for ways in which we can improve it or at the very least, stop it from declining. However,
Are you leaving welfare “on the table”? Read More »
Domestic Animals Need Enrichment Too I was lucky enough to grow up on a horse farm and be around horses and the equine industry for most of my life. When I was a bit older I started my career in the zoo and exotics world and one of the things that struck me the most
A Guide to Domestic Horse Enrichment Read More »
I have written many articles about the benefits of a goal based enrichment programs and how to implement them into an animal care facility. In these articles I have looked extensively on the goal setting process and defining what success looks like, particularly with individual enrichment items, but how do we measure success on the
Animal Observations and Creating a Behaviour Baseline Read More »
Individual vs The Species When we talk about enrichment for a given animal, one of the first topics that generally comes up is the need to think about natural behaviours that the animals wild counterparts would be displaying on a day to day basis. While I still think this is one of the most important
Behavioural Husbandry for the “Individual” Read More »
The Most Important Skill in Animal Care The act of caring for an animal, whether exotic or domesticated, is generally not that hard, people have been caring for animals for thousands of years, with a great deal of success. However, as we learn more about animal behaviour and as the science around what they really
How to Think Critically and Make Better Decisions in Animal Care Read More »
Enrichment for captive animals comes in many forms, from scent based enrichment, social enrichment and environmental enrichment. In many animal care institutions across the world enrichment is still considered to be an “extra” and not part of the normal day to day husbandry routine. Im writing this article to give a definitive argument as to
Why enrichment isn’t an “extra” Read More »
This post first appeared as an email to our mailing list subscribers. To sign up for our mailing list, click HERE. Playing with your food is good for the brain When designing an enrichment program for a carnivore, one of the most important things you can do Is work to make their feedings as enriching
Enriching Bone and Carcass Feeding Techniques Read More »
There are many challenges animal care professionals face in the day to day implementation of a high quality enrichment program. Time and money constraints are often some of the biggest hurdles to jump through to deliver the animal effective enrichment. One of the largest roadblocks animal care staff can run into is coming up with
How to Come up with and Implement Novel Enrichment Ideas Read More »
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