Dr. David Shepherdson is a biologist with a long and distinguished career in zoo animal welfare and conservation. David was inspired by Tinbergen, Durrell, and Lorentz, and completed a Ph.D. in ethology, on the European badgers in England.

David got a job at the London Zoo in the late '80 with a renewed interest in animal welfare, ignited by the work and book by the late Hal Markowitz, 'behavioral enrichment at the zoo'. Working on zoo animal welfare, and specifically the psychological and behavioural needs.

David moved to the Oregon Zoo where he had a long career working with many different scientists, care staff, and students, conducting multi-institutional studies, covering topics such as environmental enrichment, stereotypic behaviour, and together with other experts, on the physiology and other measures for different animal welfare assessments. Including studies on space use of elephants, daily walking distances, environmental and social factors, and welfare indicators.

David interac...

In this episode, Jen Feuerstein shares her long experience and knowledge of caring and working for our fellow animals in a wide variety of settings, from sanctuaries, research facilities, to zoos and shelters. Jen is currently the Director of Human Resources at the Humane Society Naples. Formerly Manager of Administration at Project Chimps (2016-2018) and Sanctuary Director at Save the Chimps (2003 – 2015).

Jen has spent a lot of time observing all kinds of primates and other species, looking at the details such as "Is their hair standing on end, what are they looking at?" and learning about their social life, their preferences, and listening to what trying to communicate. Besides her work in the USA, Jen has traveled to Europe and Africa to share through lectures, workshops, and seminars, and highlights the importance of learning from other people, having mentors, asking lots of questions, and hearing lots of different stories, strategies, and experiences.

Listen to this podcast to hear...

Dr. Balcombe about the inner lives of fishes, cognition, and relationship with other animals!

Dr. Jonathan Balcombe describes himself as a synthesizer, someone who pulls together research and practical information to correct or expand our often underestimated views and treatments of animals, including the often invisible, unliked, and unpopular animals.

Jonathan shares his insights and stories about fishes cognition, being a machiavellian, play, human-fishes interaction, social dynamics, behaviour, recognition, memory, and emotions.

For more information on Dr. Jonathan Balcombe please visit his WEBSITE

Short bio: Jonathan Balcombe is a biologist with a PhD in ethology, the study of animal behavior. His books include Pleasurable Kingdom, Second Nature, The Exultant Ark, and What a Fish Knows--a New York Times best-seller now available in fifteen languages. His next book, all about flies, will be published November 2020 by Penguin Books. Jonathan does professional editing for aspiring and es...

Today's episode is with Karen Fifield MNZM, the Chief Executive of Wellington Zoo in New Zealand, who shares the philosophy, experiences and insights of the zoo on animal welfare and care. About what leading zoos and aquariums are doing for animal welfare today.

The importance of social media to bring people with us to understand the work we are doing in zoos, as well as the importance of transparent messages, focusing on the visitor experience, and how we can work together with the staff and the public for animals and conservation.

Karen discussed the opportunities we have regarding animal welfare, as well as potential tensions with other goals such as conservation, education, research, and recreation, and animal welfare being the basis and being fundamental to all other programs. And the importance of continuous improvement, to do the research and ask 'Could we do this better?' To be thinking all the time, to do the best we can, to know that we have it right through continuous research...

Over the years of working with animals, I was often asked, what my private formula for training animals was. It has been very difficult, to put it into words, but I came up with five concepts, which are the basis for all my interactions with animals. Plus, they do come in handy around humans too.

Patience

I learned to be the most patient person when working with an animal. I give them the time they need to react and understand what I am asking of them. Sometimes, I might also have to change my approach, because I might have done something leading to the opposite of what I was hoping for. From time to time it is also good to remember, to treat humans with as much patience, as I treat animals.
 

Body language

There are many things about my body language that can influence my interaction with an animal. One very important part of establishing a positive relationship is to be fully aware, of the way I move, my posture, my voice, and my facial expressions. During every interaction with a...

In this episode Heidi Quine, Bear & Vet Team Director Vietnam Animal Asia, talks about the work of Animals Asia, about bears, rescue, change, more bears, & hope!

How do you go about rescuing a bear, what happens on a farm and why? What is Animals Asia doing and how? Who are the bears at the sanctuaries, and how does the care staff work for them, managing over 200 bears!

Animals Asia's national and international heroes in the veterinary department and bear care specialists are working hand in hand with Government Partners to end the farming of bears in Vietnam.

Heidi shares a beautiful story of her favourite bear, Tuan, and how they rescued him from a farm, and to see him now in the sanctuary, it is everything that is right in the world, and his best friend Valerie.

Heidi also shares a beautiful story about James, and how she connected with him inspired by the work of the late Else Poulsen, asking "What are you trying to tell me bear? What do you need me to know?"

And then there are the cute...

In this episode, Dr. Heather Hill, Professor of Psychology, St. Mary's University, shares her research, experiences, pipe dreams, and stories about belugas, dolphins, and killer whales, including very exciting collaborative work on a stranded beluga calf. 

Heather has done welfare-related research on topics such as play, baby animals, mother-calf behaviour and development, including developmental aspects. Heather's research interests also include cognition, problem-solving, communication systems, and group formations. To understand what are animals doing in the wild, and how can we give them the best experience in human care, also using the information from the wild to shape care programs. 

Heather has worked with SeaWorld, and with many other facilities, on observational, cognition, and developmental studies among her many interests. 

Heather shares stories and work of her friend, mentor, colleague, and inspiration, the late Dr. Stan Kuczaj.

This podcast was recorded on National Dolphin D...

The first podcast of AnimalConcepts is a special podcast. It is dedicated to our friend and colleague, the late Graham Law. This podcast is a conversation between AnimalConcepts & PAWS Director Sabrina Brando and Mark Kingston Jones, Co-Founder of Team Building with Bite, remembering the work, travel, and downtime with the kind, witty, always up for a joke and drink, and to animals committed Scotsman, of which he was very proud. 

Graham Law was Graham, and he was a husband, father, friend, and colleague. He was a visionary, an inspirator, joker, deep thinker, a poker & pusher to explore and be the best we can be, he was and is a legend.

Graham's thinking and ideas have brought so many changes in the animal care and welfare field, for bears, cats, birds, fishes, and others. Enrichment ideas such as the wobble tree, the pitfall feeder, the 'bear' basket, the swing pole feeder, and the feeding pole, are all among the many contributions he made. 

Did you meet Graham, did he inspire you? 
Do yo...

Wellbeing for you and your animals is too important not to get right

At AnimalConcepts we help you be at your best to achieve excellence in animal care and welfare. The Practical Animal Welfare Science 'PAWS' platform, is the first e-learning platform combining human and animal wellbeing science and practice. It allows you to get the education and continuous personal development (CPD) opportunities as well as tools and practical resources you need so you and your animals can flourish.

Navigating the sea of animal care and welfare information, and caring for yourself while giving care to others is a challenge that can leave you feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, where do you start?

"My vision is that the PAWS platform is one of the go-to resources that animal care professionals can use to learn, engage, and enjoy in our collective commitment to serving and caring for animals and for ourselves. See it as a short of wellness atlas where you can find all kinds of information on a wide ...

This week I attended the 2nd World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, Spain – a 7-day immersion in the world of dolphins, whales, pinnipeds, polar bears, and all the other marvellous individuals who inhabit salty, brackish, or freshwater aquatic environments, or spend their time between water and land.

This scientific gathering had over 2500 people from all around the world. Some of my friends and colleagues attended too and we spend a lot of time talking about animal welfare and care, how we have seen such an evolution of programs and sciences, ranging from health care, environmental enrichment, human-animal interactions, and training. There were so many of us working with and in zoos and aquariums, as well as research facilities and universities, there to present and represent the individuals and species we care for and study.

During the conference I had not 1 but 4 colleagues tell me “you worked at a zoo and aquarium? I did not know that!” You know when you are taken by surpri...