Ep24 Robert Young on the sciences and practices of animal care and welfare

Robert Young is a Professor at University of Salford, at the School of Science, Engineering and Environment, and also a Chair in Wildlife Conservation. He has hundreds of publications in Wildlife Conservation, Animal Welfare, Animal Behaviour, Zoos and Anthropogenic Impacts.

Throughout the podcast, Rob talks about decades of research with over 50 species, on different continents, covering a wide variety of topics, studying animals both in the wild and in captivity.

Rob started his research during his Ph.D. on foraging behaviour in pigs and enrichment activities. He shares amazing and detailed stories of his projects in Brazil, including preparing animals for reintroduction into the wild, first studies in referential communication, vision and behaviour in primates, and sound pollution, among others!

Rob discusses with Sabrina the importance of learning and studying animals in the wild and applying that knowledge to improve the care of animals in zoos and other facilities where animals are housed under human care. He remarks on the importance of being proactive and global collaborations. 

Rob talks about different aspects of conducting research, wonderful discoveries done, and improvements made. He discusses the significance of care versus welfare, and inputs versus outputs in relation to animal welfare assessments. In addition, he shares examples of studies he has conducted in zoos, including the benefits of acoustic and video monitoring for animal welfare assessments. Rob also shares some of the challenges he faced, as research is not always easy. 

Sabrina and Rob discuss mental wellbeing and animal welfare, and he gives some tips for people who want to do animal welfare research. Rob recommends taking advantage of technology and tools for research, such as using records and CCTV for information sourcing. Rob says, “It is easier to avoid a problem than is to solve the problem”.

Rob concludes the podcast with a nice story about improved animal wellbeing.

Read more about Professor Robert Young HERE

Find his book in Environmental enrichment for Captive animals HERE 

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