Abstract

If Learning is a life-long adventure, it’s compassed by scientific realities; antecedents and consequences operate on the behavioural baseline and equip us to improve the lives of all learners.

Within the zoo domain, our commitment is one that invites us to operationalise welfare approaches across the five domains of nutrition, environment, health, behaviour and mental state (Mellor, 2020). In essence, welfare is a doing word.

Welfare philosophy is itself a challenging domain: definitions vary with opinion, experience, perception and even culture. Indeed, in some languages, there isn’t a word for welfare. Further, it could be argued that the wild is not welfare state and that ‘Mother Nature’ cares not for individuals; rather, the environment sets challenges to which learners respond. In the ethological setting, the laws of learning that emerged from Skinner’s lab still apply: how does the organism deal with each antecedent set, respond to consequences, modify their behaviour and go on to refine their skill and improve success, and ultimately, survivability?

These evolutionary roadmaps don’t lose their relevance in zoos and aquaria and the contingency square continues to influence behaviour - for better or for worse.   A key approach is focusing on positive reinforcement in which humans can help shape cooperative behaviour with their animal co-learners for the better and promote positive welfare states. It is here that Applied Behaviour Analysis comes into its own: to influence future behaviour with functional outcomes that not only makes behaviour worth doing but life worth living.

Learning Objectives

Three key learning points for sharing: 

1. Welfare concepts and challenges for modern Zoos & Aquaria.
2. Effective emphasis on the most welfare appropriate outcomes in the contingency square.
3. ABA as a vital tool in improving zoo animal welfare in everyday interactions across diverse contexts.

Biography

Nicholas has relished his work in the zoo profession for 26 years in Australia and overseas, with a keen focus on behaviour change for cooperative care across diverse taxa,  specialising in birds and free flight presentations. These have blended with his background as an actor/singer to see him working internationally in the field of Nature Theatre, supported by academic pursuits in performance arts, applied ornithology and wildlife management.

As the Animal Behaviour and Creative Programs Manager at Zoos South Australia, Nicholas supports effective animal training and story sharing programs at Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park. These focus on positive, innovative and engaging approaches in technical and cultural endeavours at both sites to connect people with nature,  save species from extinction and improve the wellbeing of humans and animals in a wide range of learning contexts.