Let's talk ideologies. All of us have them, whether it's about politics or religion or sports. I'm going to introduce, very briefly, some different groups of thought about animal welfare.


Contractarianism: Animals used in ways that benefit humans
Utilitarianism: Animals used in ways to benefit a majority – the human or animal majority
Animal rights: Animals are not to be used for human gain, animals have the same right as humans
Contextual: Animals used in the context of the animal-human relationship (example: treating pets better than wildlife because of the relationship humans have with them)
Respect for nature: Animal used in the context of animal importance to nature


You may have a good sense of which camp you belong in already. If not, you might get a hint from your gut reaction to reading these descriptions. So how do these ideologies come into play when working with animals in captivity? I would argue that they influence what people perceive as good animal welfare. Animal welfare being both the physical and psychological state of an animal.


Different people have different ideas about what constitutes good animal welfare. If you've got your eyes set on a career as a zoo keeper you're going to need to learn how to deal with visitors, organizations and professionals who have differing opinions on what good animal welfare looks like.


I'll use my own personal experience as an example. I've had to deal with representatives from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) while I was a zoo keeper. Some one you might be thinking “the SPCA? How could you possibly have an issue with them.” Well it's because my stance on what good animal welfare looks like is different from theirs. I respect the work they do with domestic animals but they know very little about how a zoological environment works and how to deal with captive wildlife. I personally feel that the SPCA should have no say in animal welfare matters concerning captive wildlife in zoos and aquariums, instead decisions and actions should come from an organization similar but autonomous to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) - but that's a discussion for another day.

Poor welfare or just stork male patterned balding?

The SPCA's animal welfare guidelines are based on one measure of animal welfare called The Five Freedoms.

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
   
2. Freedom from pain, injury, and disease
   
3. Freedom from distress
   
4. Freedom from discomfort
   
5. Freedom to express behaviours that promote well-being.
   

Sounds pretty good right? But using the Five Freedoms as a catch all assessment for animal welfare is tricky when you're dealing with wild animals. The Five Freedom are pretty cut and dry for domestic animals but not wildlife – even those in captivity.


Let's end with an little exercise to hopefully help you see why it's such a difficult topic discuss. Rank these animals from WORST welfare to BEST. Compare your rankings with mine. How are they different? In what ways do you agree or disagree?

1. A fearful dog housed in a small pen in a rescue centre, getting good food and vet care
   
2. A well-cared for, content and pampered dog, confined indoors with a terminal illness
   
3. A moose living free in the wild, hungry, in poor condition and fearful of wolves
   
4. A tiger in a large enclosure, getting good good and vet care, occasionally scared by machinery noises and pestered by obnoxious guests
   
5. A loved Labrador, overweight and with congestive heart failure, allowed to run free in a big garden
   
6. A dog kept for hunting, health, well fed and allowed to roam but fearful of his punitive master
   
7. A much-loved beagle, showered with affection, healthy and allowed to roam free
   

After thinking about it, and debating with myself (because these issues are never black and white) I would rank these:

WORST 1 – 2 – 6 – 5- 4- 7- 3 BEST

You can support wildlife by encouraging them to live in your backyard. Here's a rough overview on how to build a bat box. There are a ton of great websites that go into more detail if you're interested in building a box for your own backyard.

Bat boxes

Dimensions:

• At least 2' (60.1cm) tall, and at least 14” (35.6cm) wide.
  
• There can be multiple roosting chambers. Roosting chambers should be 1.9-2.5 cm apart.
  
• Partitions and landing areas need to be roughened or covered in a durable plastic mesh (do not use metal, it will rush and break off).
  
• Vents should be included if July temperatures surpass 30 C. Vents on the front should be 1.3cm wide and side vents should be 15cm tall and 1.3cm wide.
  

Materials:

• Plywood and cedar (do not use pressure treated wood).
  
• Exterior paint: colour will depend on July temperatures. (27-30°C (80-85°F) black, 30-35°C (85-95°F) dark brown or gray, 35-38°C (95-100°F) medium or light colors, over 38°C (100°F) white).
  

Placement:

• Place the bat box in a location where the box will receive at least 6 hours of direct sun.
  
• If possible, place box within one kilometre of water.
  
• Mount on a pole or a building at least 10' off the ground.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Sources:
  
• http://cwf-fcf.org/en/do-something/challenges-projects/take-action-factsheets/outside/putting-up-a-bat-house.html
  
• http://www.bcbats.ca/index.php/bat-houses/where-to-install-a-bat-house

The holidays are upon us!

I have this thing with wrapping paper. It only exist to wrap gifts, to conceal the contents. Yes it's pretty, yes it's shiny but reeeeally it exists to exist. It's a waste of resources and there are plenty of other materials you can use to cover presents so what's inside remains a surprise.

I use

Newspaper
IKEA instruction manuals
IKEA paper that comes with the furniture you buy
Magazines

I re-use

Bags
Boxes
Wrapping paper

You can get creative this season and think of fun ways to wrap gifts that doesn't involve buying brand new wrapping paper. With newspaper, it's easy to save the comic section. Or you can be a Christmas troll like me and wrap some gifts using the obituaries.

My second hand Christmas tree with my IKEA paper gifts.

Here's my robot-voice recording of my thesis that I completed in September for my Master's of Global Wildlife Heath and Conservation Biology at Bristol university.

I looked at the breeding success of hand-reared vs. parent-reared big cats.

Some of you may have heard of animals referred to as “critically endangered” or “vulnerable.” But what does that really mean? Where do these statuses come from?

The IUCN has a “Redlist of Threatened Species” which is where the official classifications of species comes from. Species are classified in this way:

But what's the real difference between a critically endangered animal and a vulnerable one? Well I'm glad you asked. Animals are categorized based on:

1. Population decline
   
2. Geographic range
   
3. Population size
   
4. Number of mature individuals
   
5. Probability of extinction
   

There are more specific subcategories within all these but we won't get into that today. Here is a comparison between critically endangered and vulnerable species:

	Critically Endangered	Vulnerable
Population decline	Reduction of more than 90% over the last 10 years or three generations	Reduction of more than 50% over the last 10 years or three generations
Geographic range	Occurrence = less than 100 km2	Occurrence = less than 20,000 km2
Population size	Less than 250 individuals	Less than 10,000 individuals
Number of mature individuals	Less than 50 mature individuals	Less than 1000 mature individuals
Probability of extinction	Probability of extinction in the wild = 50% within 10 years or three generations	Probability of extinction in the wild = 10% within 100 years

As you can see, species with a much smaller range, population size and a much higher chance of extinction are classified as critically endangered. Many species remain to be evaluated because doing in-depth analysis of species requires time and resources.

Hopefully I've helped you understand the these terms! You can look into the statuses of local animals in your community by visiting the IUCN Redlist.

Hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) - Vulnerable

The day in the life of a zoo keeper:

7:00 - Arrive at work. Get changed and talk to co-workers about their weekend/life/need for coffee

7:15-9:00 - Morning health checks. Feed baboons, lynx, caracal, coyotes, cheetah, cougars, eagles, Arctic fox, Arctic wolves, and any other wildlife that steals your food

9:00 - 9:30 - Coffee break. For me, since I don't drink coffee, it was a granola bar break

9:30 - 11:30 - Feed jaguar, clean baboon stalls, feed bears, projects! (project include: cleaning beds, pooper-scooping, trimming blackberry bushes, weed-whacking, organizing the cat house, or enrichment)

11:30-12:30 Lunch. Unless it's Wednesday then I would be with the vet out in the field, not eating and frowning

12:30 - 15:55 Grab food for the afternoon.

13:00 Lion and Tiger feeding/pubic talk. Feed baboons, bears and bat eared foxes. Projects and afternoon health checks.

16:00 Home time! (Unless there's an animal emergency, then I'm still here.)

That's pretty much how my days goes but everyday is different depending what the animals want to throw at you - both figuratively and literary. My schedule also varies depending on the time of year. In the winter I have more project time because the bears are sleeping (I only have to check on them every 2 days), no blackberries growing like weeds and no Lion and Tiger feeding. In the summer I run around like a maniac trying to fit everything in but I get to talk to public after my shows and that's always lovely. Sometimes I also have committee meetings which I have to make time for so I go twice as fast.

And that's my day!

Happy national zoo keeper week! Go hug a zoo keeper near you!

Remember that zoo keepers work hard - rain or shine - to provide the best care possible to animals that need a home in captivity.