Ep7 Dr. David Shepherdson on enrichment, animal welfare and conservation

Dr. David Shepherdson is a biologist with a long and distinguished career in zoo animal welfare and conservation. David was inspired by Tinbergen, Durrell, and Lorentz, and completed a Ph.D. in ethology, on the European badgers in England.

David got a job at the London Zoo in the late '80 with a renewed interest in animal welfare, ignited by the work and book by the late Hal Markowitz, 'behavioral enrichment at the zoo'. Working on zoo animal welfare, and specifically the psychological and behavioural needs.

David moved to the Oregon Zoo where he had a long career working with many different scientists, care staff, and students, conducting multi-institutional studies, covering topics such as environmental enrichment, stereotypic behaviour, and together with other experts, on the physiology and other measures for different animal welfare assessments. Including studies on space use of elephants, daily walking distances, environmental and social factors, and welfare indicators.

David interacted with the American Zoo Association and the larger zoo world, was part of the establishment of the AZA animal welfare committee, and affecting change for animals globally.

David also mentioned the importance of understanding the history of the topic of animal welfare, where concepts and thinking came from, including work by biologist Heini Hediger and Dr. Terry Maple, and how many ideas, thinking, and concepts that have already been written about, which can be revisited and used today.

David discusses how we have seen a massive paradigm shift in how we think of animal minds, as the idea of animal thinking and minds since the mid-'80s, how it has changed our ideas and treatment of animals.

Conservation work is key, including the work on local species, and species recovery activities, and David shares his work with frogs, turtles, California condor, and many other species, with many of these projects still ongoing. David highlights the necessary web of collaboration with all kinds of organisations and experts, and the unique position of zoos and aquariums reaching a wider audience through social media, education programs, and other educational activities, also known as social marketing. 'Grabbing people by their emotions, and changing their opinions, as the future of the world as we know it depends on it."

Finally, David also highlights the importance of good relationships between caregivers and animals, that care staff is central to questions of animal welfare, and their insights into animal welfare.

David shares a wonderful story about a Golden eagle and we discuss that maybe, maybe, there might be an updated version of Second Nature?

Learn more about the Oregon Zoo
Learn more about the book Second Nature, edited Shepherdson, Mellen, and Hutchins.