Animal welfare training for zoo staff in Cuba

Wild Welfare’s field director, Dave Morgan, has been visiting Cuba, training zoo staff in essential animal welfare techniques. Dave teamed up with staff from the USA’s San Diego Zoo – Yvette Kemp and Julian Castellanos – and Guillermo Delfino, from Argentina’s Biopark Temaikèn. Yvette is a member of the Outreach Committee of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) and Guillermo Delfino is a member of the Animal Welfare Committee of ALPZA, and also serves on the Council of the International Congress of Zoo Keepers (ICZ).

Presenting to a group of staff from the National Zoo of Cuba, they ran a practical three-day training workshop on animal welfare, behavioural enrichment and safety and security. This was a fantastic collaboration for Wild Welfare, with the opportunity to liaise with knowledgeable and committed individuals from other facilities and associations, who share a passion for improving animal welfare and were keen to impart that to the Cuban zoo’s staff.

Commenting on the training, Mr Morgan said: “The workshop was very successful. Alongside theoretical training, we went into the zoo and were able to demonstrate practical enclosure enhancement techniques that had an instant impact on some of the facility’s animals.

“Working with our colleagues from San Diego and Temaikèn was also a really enriching experience.”

Workshop participants had the opportunity to enrich bear enclosures and capuchin monkey enclosures as part of the training, and many were thrilled to see the animals’ positive responses when they were re-introduced to their new environments.

See some of the workshop’s highlights HERE

Wild Welfare also discussed the possibility of future cooperation which would enable the zoos of the Empresa Cuban de Zoologicos – a small collective that operates the 22 zoo facilities in Cuba- to receive further training and welfare assistance so they can push forward better welfare for the region’s captive wild animals.