Behavorial Management
Behavioral Management is a proactive approach to managing captive animal behavior and care with the goal of fostering optimal animal welfare and wellbeing. This approach involves key elements including positive reinforcement training and enrichment programming, facility designs, and a review of operational practices and procedures. The synergy of these elements, combined with behavioral problem solving and regular evaluations to assess the effectiveness of programming, creates a responsive system that activates animals in their environments, and encourages healthy engagement and interaction both with and within the environment, resulting in behaviorally, physically, and mentally healthy animals.
Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) is a widely recognized tool to enhance the care and welfare of captive animals and includes these benefits: 1) Daily access, care, management and husbandry practices are facilitated, and veterinary access for routine and non-routine treatments and procedures is improved; 2) Social behavior, appropriate to the species and individual, is encouraged by the application of specialized PRT techniques which teach positive social interactions and minimize aggression among animals; 3) Overall behavioral, psychological, and physical wellbeing objectives become feasible with PRT strategies that encourage animals to use a wide range of their physical and mental attributes, combat abnormal behaviors, and physical fitness goals are attained with individually-designed programs.
Enrichment, inclusive of environmental and behavioral enrichment, is a dynamic process for enhancing the experience of the animal living within the environment. An enriched environment is dynamic, responsive, provides various choices, and promotes engagement in species-appropriate behaviors. Enrichment is tailored to individuals with goals that reflect the species’ behavioral biology and natural history; it should offer appropriate challenges, opportunities, and stimulation to yield behaviorally, physically, socially, and mentally healthy individuals.