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Managing the welfare of the animals in our care: a commitment to excellence
August 12, 2024
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Managing the welfare of the animals in our care: a commitment to excellence
By Tiga Cross, Manager of Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary
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At Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary, our commitment to the welfare of the animals in our care is at the heart of everything we do. Each animal, regardless of size or species, is a unique individual deserving of a life filled with positive experiences. Animal welfare, encompassing the multitude of experiences an animal has throughout its lifetime, is our primary focus.
Evidence-Based Welfare Improvement
We take animal welfare seriously, which is why we’ve adopted an evidence-based system modeled on the Five Domains. This science-based framework, used by all ZAA-accredited zoos and aquariums, assesses welfare across multiple dimensions, recognizing that animals can experience a range of feelings from negative to positive. This approach allows us to go beyond the prevention of poor welfare by actively promoting positive welfare.
Transparent and Realistic Engagement
Transparency is key at Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary. Our interactions and demonstrations evolve daily, with six out of our eleven daily presentations changing based on the animals’ needs. For instance, welfare talks might include voluntary penguin weigh-ins, dolphin blood draws, and seal ultrasounds. This approach ensures visitors witness real conservation efforts and understand our dedication to animal welfare.
Health and Nutrition
Ensuring our animals are free from disease, maintaining normal functional capacity, and engaging in activities that generate positive experiences is crucial. Our efforts to improve health and nutrition include:
- Regular health checks and veterinary care
- Varied, nutritious diets tailored to individual needs
- Safe and stimulating environments
- A comprehensive Preventative Medicine Program
All the animals in our care enjoy diverse diets, for example our marine mammals have up to nine different species of fish and squid, each providing unique nutritional benefits. This allows us to adjust their diets as necessary to maintain optimal health.
Enriching Environment
Creating safe, naturalistic, species-appropriate environments is essential for our animals’ physical and mental well-being. We enhance their environments by:
- Designing spacious habitats for natural behaviors
- Providing sensory stimulation
- Ensuring positive social interactions
The animals explore various substrates and changing environments, promoting natural behaviors and mental engagement.
Behavioural Diversity
Encouraging species-typical behaviors is a priority. We design animal habitats that provide opportunties for exploration, foraging, play, bonding and other natura, behaviours to ensure the animals feel safe, confident and engaged. The animal care team create further opportunities for enriching experiences during their daily interactions with the animals.
Mental Challenge
Stimulating the animals’ cognitive capacities is vital for their mental well-being. We use positive reinforcement training, allowing animals to direct their training sessions. Concept training helps them make connections between previously disconnected concepts, ensuring they are mentally stimulated and engaged.
Choice and Control
We believe in giving animals agency over their experiences. By providing opportunities for choice and control, we respect their individuality and preferences. This includes:
- Preference testing and choice training
- Opportunities to retreat from view
- Respectful human interactions
Dignity and Respect
Portraying animals with dignity and respecting their inherent worth is fundamental. We continually review animal-visitor interactions, the context of presentations, and train behaviours that improve welfare while highlighting the animals’ learning capacities.
ZAA Accreditation and Independent Studies
Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary is a welfare-accredited institution under the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA). We have received commendable mentions for our animal welfare business model. Additionally, independent studies by Isabella Clegg with the C-Well Assessment, specific to cetaceans, have confirmed our high standards.
At Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary, we are dedicated to ensuring the welfare of the animals in our care, continually striving for excellence through scientific evidence, transparency, and respect. Our commitment is to provide each animal with a life filled with positive experiences, demonstrating our deep care and dedication to their well-being.
Lastly, we encourage you to come and experience our animal welfare first-hand. Visit us, and see for yourself how our experienced, learned and dedicated team are caring for and enriching the animals in our care each day.
If you want to learn more about animal welfare and ZAA Accreditation, visit: https://www.zooaquarium.org.au/public/Public/Animal-Welfare/Animal-welfare.aspx
