Ep21 Terry Maple on animal welfare at the hand of science

Dr. Terry L. Maple is an animal behaviourist and wildlife conservationist known for his visionary leadership in revitalizing Zoo Atlanta as the director. Aside from being Professor Emeritus, he is the founder of the Center for Conservation & Behavior, and the Founding Editor of the journal Zoo Biology among many other things from his long career.

Terry shares with us how he transformed Zoo Atlanta in a build for change towards research and improvement for the welfare of the animals. He describes how he applied his knowledge in psychology for turning around and creating wellness-inspired habitats for animals.

Over the years, much of his work has been published in more than 12 books! 

Dr. Maple has written much related to zoo biology, in addition to many other scientific publications. He dives deeper into some of his books and his experiences like “Great Apes and Humans: The Ethics of Coexistence”, “Ethics on the Ark: Zoos, Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation” or “Beyond Animal Welfare: The Art and Science of Wellness”.

Terry discusses the evolution of welfare in zoos in the USA and how science contributed to these changes and legislation. He believes the key to animal welfare is science. As founding editor of Zoo Biology Journal, Terry mentions that in order for good science to continue, the best scientists have to be editors of these journals. He ultimately hopes a woman will soon lead the journal.

Lastly, Terry encourages young people to take a look in this field, as the zoo world is getting better and better.

Find out more about Terry and his work HERE

Read an interview with Terry HERE

Find all his books HERE

Listen on your favourite player or directly HERE

Become a member of PAWS HERE