In this episode, I am joined by DR. Eszter Matrai, who is a senior research fellow at Ocean Park, Hong Kong. Dr. Matrai runs a lab at Ocean Park currently working with multiple marine and terrestrial species, focusing on activity monitoring, behavioural pattern analysis and the use of cognitive enrichments. In this episode, we talked about assessing, creating and implementing cognitive and cooperative enrichment and much more!...

In this episode, I am joined by Kelsey Worth, an experienced zookeeper, leader and a great person to chat with! The main topic of discussion is emotional longevity in the animal care industry, with a focus on how to be happy long-term and become resilient for a long and successful career. I hope you enjoy!  Internal vs External Locus of control  https://wildenrichment.com/articles/learn-to-soar-dealing-with-burnout-in-the-animal-care-industry/

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Kylen Gartland who is the Manager of Applied Animal Welfare Science at the Centre for Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare and Ethics located at the Detroit Zoological Society. In this wide ranging conversation, we touched on creating effective systems to assess animal welfare, demystifying statistics and much more! Resources and...

In this episode, I am joined by Shane Gorbett, who sits on the board of directors of The ABMA and runs their podcast, Animal Behaviour Conversations: The Podcast of The ABMA. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the importance of building relationships with the animals you work with and the power of positive reinforcement to change an animals life.  Check out Animal Behaviour Conversations:...

In this episode I am joined by Elliot Carr, Sanctuaries and Rescue Centres Coalition Lead Coordinator at Asia For Animals Coalition. We talk about animal welfare issues across Asia and the World as well as some of the great companies on the front line of these issues. Enjoy! https://www.asiaforanimals.com/ https://www.smaccoalition.com/  https://www.asiaforanimals.com/news

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Jake Veasey, Director of Care for the Rare. In this wide-ranging conversation we talk about his company, Care for the Rare, the future of habitats for animals in human care, the interface between animal welfare and conservation as well as some insight into the future of welfare assessments. Enjoy! Resources: Website www.carefortherare.com Personal LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeveasey/ Company LinkedIn page...

In this episode, I am joined by Christine Dorchak and Carey Theil, co-authors of  Brooklyn Goes Home: The Rise and Fall of American Greyhound Racing and the Dog that Inspired a Movement, are the founders of the small non-profit organization GREY2K USA, where they led a coalition of ordinary dog lovers in fighting a multi-billion dollar gambling industry — and won. We talk about their new book, The Greyhound Racing Industry and how their formula for success can be used to create legislation to...

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Van Herpt, Senior Bear Team Manager at Animals Asia. Animals Asia is a company dedicated to ending bear bile farming and improving the welfare of animals across Asia. To accomplish this goal, Animals Asia has several bear sanctuaries for moon bears and sun bears they rehabilitate them from the horrors of the bear bile industry. In this conversation, Sarah and I talk about how they go about rehabilitating these bears, the unique challenges they face as...

In this episode, I am joined by Nicky Plaskitt, an expert animal trainer and owner of Shaping Behaviour training consultancy. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about how Nicky started in the industry, using positive reinforcement to train raptors and what makes a training program successful.  Resources:  https://shapingbehaviour.com/  Nicky Plaskitt BSc (Hons), CPBT-KA, CPAT-KA's PostLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com › posts ›...

In this episode, I am joined by Gerry Creighton. Gerry is a second-generation zookeeper and former operations manager of the Dublin Zoo. Gerry now runs his own consultancy, Global Elephant Care Inc. and just released his new book "Raised by the Zoo: My Life with Elephants and Other Animals", a memoir of his experiences in over 30 years of working in zoos. Check out his book here: Raised by the Zoo: My Life with Elephants and Other AnimalsAmazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com ›...

In this episode, I sit down with Matthew Shackleton, a veterinary physiotherapist and former zookeeper. Matthew works with a wide variety of animals, exotic and domestic. In this conversation, we talk about Matthews's approach to physiotherapy in zoos, training and enrichment as therapy tools and how to support geriatric animals as they age. Resources:  https://www.shackletonvetphysio.com/about https://www.facebook.com/ShackletonVetPhysio/ https://www.instagram.com/shackleton_vet_physio/

"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it." Robert Heinlein. Zookeepers are faced with many challenges these days, being short-staffed, underpaid, and burnt out, and on top of all that, they have to stay on top of an extremely rapidly advancing industry. Being "Product Oriented" is aimed at helping with this by giving animal care teams clear priorities and ensuring the daily tasks of managing an...

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Jenna Congdon. Dr. Congdon is a Psychologist, specializing in comparative cognition and behaviour in animals. Her research spans many topics, from, songbird communication to training artificial intelligence to analyze Orangutan behaviour. During this conversation, we explore the exciting ways animals perceive the world, the power of artificial intelligence, how we can better understand animal behaviour and much...

In this episode, I am joined by Peter Giljam, founder and head trainer at Zoospensfull. Peter has spent many years as an animal trainer, influencer, educator and consultant and brings his expertise to this wide-ranging conversation. We talk about the most important things to consider in a training program, cooperative care and the future of positive reinforcement training. We also discuss dealing with burnout and compassion fatigue in the...

In this episode, we sit down with Ezekiel Gading, a master's student and animal welfare researcher. We talk about Ezekiel's fascinating research on Orangutans, building resilience in the animals you work with and how animals are perceiving their environment. Resources we covered:  https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/our-people/professor-marian-dawkins-cbe-frs/  https://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?dmb16  https://suzannemacdonald.ca/ 

In this episode, I am joined by Tim Husband, a former zoo director with over 40 years in the animal care industry. Tim brings the perspective of having worked at all levels of animal care facilities to this wide-ranging conversation. Tim currently owns a consulting company ZooWorks, where he and his team perform audits of animal care facilities to determine strategic goals for the facility as it relates to leadership and operations.  You can find Tim on Linkedin here:...

In this episode, I sit down with Alice Vassalo, Director of the Keeper Educational Exchange Programme and host of A*****e Animals With Alice. We chat about the importance of collaboration on animal welfare and learning as well as some of the animals that we still loved working with despite them being jerks.  Resources:  https://www.keeperexchange.org/about-us-2 https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/a-e-animals-with-alice/id1667378735  https://www.instagram.com/assholeanimalswithalice/

In this episode, Nick Naitove & Emily Cain-Bernhart of WildThink are back! We chat about the enrichment vending machine, animal cognition, our sensory biases and the future of animal welfare with things like AI. Check it out!  Resources:  https://www.wildthink.org/  https://czaw.org/  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/616914/an-immense-world-by-ed-yong/9781039003903

In this episode, I sit down with Grant Kother, Senior Consultant at Zoospensfull. Grant brings his expertise in leading animal care teams, enrichment and training as well as extensive experience as an animal educator. Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation!  Resources  Sabrina Brando 24/7 care  https://animalconcepts.mykajabi.com/247approachtopromotingoptimalwelfareforcaptivewildanimals  https://zoospensefull.com/

In this episode, we chat with Jade Fountain, owner of Animal Behaviour Matters. Animal behaviour matters is a behaviour consultancy that works with people and animals worldwide to teach the fundamentals of applied behavioural science and behaviour change via positive reinforcement training. In this conversation, we go over what makes a great animal trainer, decision-making in behavioural husbandry, and some of the fundamental principles of Animal Behaviour...

In this episode I am joined by Dr Valli Fraser-Celin, an expert on human- canine relationships and positive reinforcement training advocate. In this wide ranging conversation we talk about Valli's doctoral research on human-canine conflict and relationships in Africa, how this informed her advocacy around R+ in canines and some common myths around dog behaviour. Resources:  https://www.instagram.com/thelivesofwilddogs/?hl=en https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=F-yUFmgAAAAJ&hl=en The...

In this episode, we sit down with Kristina Bartley, Founder and President of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Enrichment. We chat about the unique challenges with the enrichment and welfare of lab animals as well as some of the parallels between the research field and the zoo field.  Some resources we talked about:  https://www.aalae.org/about-us/ https://www.aalae.org/enrichment-database/

In this episode we sit down with Bale Pigors to talk about Free to be Wild Sanctuary, the primate sanctuary she started in Zimbabwe. We talk about the steps involved in rehabilitating an animal for release as well as the unique enrichment and animal welfare challenges that come with rehabilitation.  https://freetobewildsanctuary.org/ https://www.instagram.com/freetobewildsanctuary/

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Isabella Clegg, Director of Animal Welfare Expertise. We discuss a wide range of topics relating to animal welfare and enrichment including bridging the gap between research and practical application of animal welfare concepts, common challenges, the importance of team work, and much more!  Resources...