Zoo Logic Dr. Grey Stafford

Following a recent industry webinar, we asked ethicist, Dr. Raymond Anthony and veterinarian and researcher, Dr. Dave Miller to weigh in on the subject of using hormone therapy to curb aggressive behavior in managed settings. Under what conditions and to what extent is modifying animal behavior through pharmacology, specifically hormones or their synthetic analogs, an acceptable practice?  Is there an ethical difference between acute and chronic use, especially when the drug in question is used "off label" or may not have been studied in the species for which its use is intended? Importantly, what sort of ethical framework should facilities employ before this approach to managing animal behavior, social well-being, reproduction or long term contraception is utilized?
Animal Care Software

Before she accepted the role of executive director of the Zoological Association of America in 2023, Dr. Kelly George was a researcher with Ohio State University studying human-animal relationships with an emphasis on welfare and behavior. Today she leads the young but growing trade association focused on improving standards of husbandry care, educating the public, and promoting greater conservation efforts for species in human care and in the wild. She describes her first year, where the association is now, where she thinks it is headed, and why it is important for the organization to tell its own narrative.
Animal Care Software

As director of research for the Dolphin Research Center, Dr. Kelly Jaakkola spends much of her time studying the cognitive abilities of bottlenose dolphins, as well as, refuting the false or unsubstantiated narratives stemming from all places, recent peer-reviewed publications by authors opposed to marine mammals in human care. One of two of her recent publications examines whether these small cetaceans in human care live in "impoverished" environments. Spoiler alert, they don't. However, Kelly argues in a separate paper that this low bar of animal welfare can and should be raised to include beneficial cognitive challenges that enable animals in zoological facilities, not just dolphins, to thrive when we humans have met most of their physical needs.
Animal Care Software

Before she became an expert avian trainer with Natural Encounters, Ari Bailey got her start working with crocodilian species at a time when aversives and physical restraint were still commonly in use. Fortunately, the state of animal training for crocodilians and other ectothermic species has since advanced; in many ways, the same sort of husbandry behaviors commonly seen with mammals and birds can also be seen with reptiles at modern zoological facilities. However, while the principles of operant conditioning used with crocs are the same as with other species, their unique physiology and natural history does influence how modern behavioral science methods are applied. Ari discusses these and other details from training material she's written for professional coursework on crocodilians.
Animal Care Software

The post Civil War era gave rise to unprecedented social changes. The energy and activism directed at ending the scourge of slavery found new life in improving the welfare of animals, particularly those species in American homes, industry, entertainment, and on the dinner plate. Authors, Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, DVM have written their second book together (Knopf, 4/23) examining the extraordinary animal welfare movement that emerged during the latter third of the 19th century. Readers of Our Kindred Creatures are "introduced to the activists, scientists, and moguls who helped create our modern views on animals, with our intense compassion for certain species and ignorant disregard for others."  Not surprisingly, this same movement was intertwined with the public's burgeoning interest in conservation as rampant species and habitat loss was unfolding.
Animal Care Software

On a recent visit to a zoological facility, their senior animal manager asked about my current views on the use of negative reinforcement given past treatment of the subject in my book ZOOmility going back to the mid 2000's, when I largely discouraged trainers from using the training tool. So we thought it might be time to take another look at that behavioral tool to better understand if, when or with what species it is ever appropriate to use negative reinforcement since it requires the presence and subsequent removal of aversive stimuli. We asked well known animal trainer and Clicker Training's Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer, Ken Ramirez, to weigh in on the subject and share his thoughts and cautions on negative reinforcement.
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