Speaker description:

Sabrina Brando is the Owner and Director of AnimalConcepts, manages 247 Animal Welfare and is Primate Care Training Program Coordinator with the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance. However, her preferred job description is ‘I am in the business of animal happiness’. For the last 27 years she has been working in and with the global zoo and wildlife profession, including zoos, aquariums, wildlife centres and sanctuaries. Sabrina has a BSc in psychology, a MSc in animal studies, and is currently a PhD student at the University of Stirling in Scotland, with her thesis on “24/7 across lifespan: zoo animal and human wellbeing”.
Sabrina is happy to have been involved in speaking at conferences, running workshops, working with zoo expert groups, writing book chapters and articles, and to be contributing to several research projects on animal advocacy, care, welfare and behaviour. Sabrina teaches and always keeps on learning as a guest lecturer at various universities and colleges as well as in many zoos and aquariums worldwide. Her interests are animal welfare, behaviour, environmental enrichment, animal training, and the human-animal interaction and relationship.

Saturday, 06.11.2021

10.00 – 11.30	I see you – seeing the animal’ concept is, in the broadest sense, fundamental to achieve animal welfare and positive training outcomes. Who is she or he? What do you ‘know’ about them not only on the species level, but also on the individual one? How do we learn to balance the needs and wants we have, versus those of an animal? This interactive session will discuss the I see you concept as a fundamental component in considering the animals you care for “24/7 across lifespan”.
11.30 – 11.45	Coffee break
11.45 – 13.00	Animal welfare: This session will cover a wide variety of animal welfare approaches, including contemporary trends. Various key animal training concepts will be reviewed as they pertain to animal welfare. Animal ethics in relation to animal welfare and training will also be discussed.
13.00 – 14.00	Lunch
14.00 – 15.00	Animal learning I: Animals learn all the time. This session will give an overview of different animal learning principles and strategies, as well as other aspects, e.g. social and environmental ones that can affect learning.
15.00 – 15.15	Coffee break
15.15 – 17.00	Animal play: This session will provide a scientific background for animal play based on real animal play stories and discuss the importance of play in learning inside and outside of a formal training session. Videos: thinking and acting as a professional in the field of animal welfare and training. In this session we will analyze and discuss animal training videos across taxa from a scientific and best practice standpoint.

Sunday, 07.11.2021

10.00 – 11.30	Animal learning II: This session is a continuation of day 1. Animal welfare and training in a broader context, including live animal exhibit design, environmental enrichment, and the human-animal relationship.
11.30 – 11.45	Coffee break
11.45 – 13.00	Animal training theory in practice: during this session you will work in a small group on different animal training exercises, including identifying signals (A), behaviours (B) and consequences (C) in daily animal care and training.
13.00 – 14.00	Lunch
14.00 – 15.00	Behaviour observations: This session will give a brief introduction to behaviour observations, and their importance in and outside of formal training sessions.
15.00 – 15.15	Coffee break
15.15 – 17.00	Qualitative and quantitative research and different ways of knowing & science: qualitative and quantitative research methods in relation to animal welfare and training, different approaches and alternative thoughts on human-animal interactions and understanding various animals.