Course « Animal training »

The AKONGO team offers training dedicated to the training of your animals to improve their welfare

Objective: This course provides zoo staff with a background in animal behaviour and animal training theory and methodology, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the skills necessary to train animals.

The life of animals in zoological gardens is not a walk in the park: visitors, schools, changes into the social group, transfers between zoological parks, changes in the habitat, medical interventions, changes in the keeper’s team… all these events may lead to temporary or chronic stress. Training animals helps them to cope better with their environment, create a routine, desensitize them and thus, reduce the stress associated with some practices.

Content :

• Concepts of animal behaviour, animal training and animal welfare
• Relationship between animal training and animal welfare
• Methods of implementation
• Objective of the animal training
• Planning and evaluation
• Measuring the success
• The trainer-animal relationship
• Husbandry and management training
• Animal and keeper safety
• Integration of behavioural training into the daily care of animals to enhance their welfare

This workshop contains both practical and theory activities; including discussions, group work, individual work, research tasks.