Association for Behavior Analysis International

Over the past decade, animal welfare has become a focal point for laboratory, equine, companion, and zoological animals. This presents a unique expansion opportunity for the behavior analytic community. In 2001, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis published its first applied animal behavior (AAB) article. Since then, AAB research has continued to gain momentum and demonstrated effectiveness with species ranging from rats, dogs, horses, birds, big cats, non-human primates, and killer whales. Previous research has improved animal welfare by utilizing discrete trial training, functional analysis, extinction, noncontingent reinforcement, and differential reinforcement procedures. This symposium highlights efforts being made to continue the reach of AAB by furthering research to puppy guide dogs, domestic cats, penguins, Asian elephants, and birds of prey. Attendees can expect to learn about descriptive functional behavioral assessments, behavior skills training, procedural fidelity, and how effective data-based decisions have been used with animals, their caretakers, and successfully improved animal welfare. The symposium will shed light the challenges practitioners face with zoological research, the necessity of collaborative diverse teams and innovative approaches, along with the impact and adaptations zoological research required due to Covid-19.

Animal welfare has become a leading discussion within the zoological community. Several accrediting organizations require zoos to have management positions that oversee animal training/behavior, enrichment, and animal welfare. The Five Freedoms, Five Domains Model, and the Opportunities to Thrive are animal welfare models that zoos adapt to assess animals in their care. In many cases, the skill of the animal trainer (trainer), animal-trainer dynamic, and the frequency or quality of animal-trainer interactions are not considered in these models. At SeaWorld Orlando, we assessed the frequency of off-perch trainer interactions (OPTI) with four rescued birds of prey (BOP). Behavior Skills Training (BST) was implemented to teach five critical BOP-trainer interaction skills across four novice dyads. BST criteria was set at five consecutive trials at 100% fidelity, one test trial per day. Trial-by-trial interobserver agreement was 98% across 50% of BST intervention and 97% across 33% of maintenance trials. Results demonstrated a total increase of OPTI at 128% from baseline to maintenance phases. This presentation will discuss our method and results, how we addressed an instructional limitation from our killer whale study, suggestions for future zoological welfare research, and will address the challenges and adaptations the study encountered due to Covid-19.

Applied animal behavior is a fast-growing area of behavior analysis. Many of its practitioners operate in captive animal environments such as animal shelters, sanctuaries, zoos, and aquariums. These environments provide considerable challenges for research. For example, staff often have limited time to collect behavioral data and require significant study to understand each species’ natural histories. Moreover, staff must carefully consider the widely different physical and mental capabilities of the species being studied. To address these challenges, practitioners must look outside our field to identify creative solutions. This presentation will discuss four studies now being conducted at The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The subjects include Asian elephants, little blue penguins, African penguins, and domestic cats. Each study seeks to better understand these animals’ behavior and enhance their welfare. In addition, the presentation will examine each study’s unique challenges and setbacks. Finally, the presentation will explain the development of these studies and describe the diverse team needed to conduct this research. The unique data presented here illustrate the need for novel approaches when studying captive animal welfare as well as the immense benefits of a diverse collaborative team.