1. The Highest Standards of Humane Animal Care
Husbandry 101
The Highest Standards of Humane Animal Care
Please ask questions.
I’ll show some disturbing photos in the beginning of the presentation.

2. Husbandry’s Mission
Our purpose is to keep the animals in our care comfortable, happy, and healthy and work our hardest to provide their basic needs. Our main focus should be to provide the animals with a clean, safe environment, healthy & nutritious diets, and healthcare.

3. 5 Basic Freedoms
These guide our daily interactions with the animals in our care.
Freedom from hunger and thirst
Freedom from discomfort
Freedom from pain, injury and disease
Freedom to express normal behavior
Freedom from fear and distress

4. Our Guidelines – Facility Specific SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures)
Check with your facility director for specific SOP’s.
These documents change and are updated regularly.
No more than 2 years between updates.
After each change, updated training is provided.
Often all the adults in a social group are shot down.
When babies are confiscated from traffickers, they are generally sent to PASA member wildlife centers.

5. Emergency Procedures
In order to keep the animals in our care safe, we must all know what to do in an emergency. Please review the specific emergency procedures for your facility as soon as possible.

6. New Caregivers
You will get to know the animals by both physical traits and personalities.
Always expected the unexpected.
Always expect the unexpected. Our chimps like to keep us on our toes.

7. New Caregivers Required thorough medical exam
Vaccinations
Fecal tests
HIV tests
No contact with primates in your first two weeks.

8. Working with a Team Regular communication
Respectful behavior and conversation
Cooperation with veterinary & education team members as well as administrative & research teams
The wildlife centers are led by amazing people, working “against all odds” – electricity nevermind internet, clean water, gov’t, staff, travel.
They have made a long term commitment to African wildlife.

9. Importance of Personal Hygiene To Minimize Transmission of Zoonotic Disease
Work clothes remain on site
If you or a family member are ill, please stay home
Smoking, eating, drinking or spitting are not permitted in animal areas
Wash hands regularly
Disposable gloves should be worn when handling sick animals
People with open cuts or sores on their hands should wear disposable gloves
Keep hands away from your face when working in
animal areas
Do not put pencils, pens etc. into your mouth.
When traffickers are caught with live animals… Without wildlife centers, many smugglers would be allowed to go.
Wildlife law enforcement is generally weaker in African countries that don’t have a wildlife sanctuary.
Almost 3/4 of PASA member organizations conduct anti-poaching patrols in great ape habitat
Nearly half conduct community development projects. Diverse – build schools, build health posts, provide clean water, sponsor youth soccer teams.

10. Daily Routines Feeding Cleaning Record Keeping/Monitoring Groups
Assisting other staff
Providing enrichment
Cooperative learning
Socialization/Integration
Almost half have contributed to natural areas being legally classified as protected. In collaboration with gov’t.
Most PASA members rehabilitate and reintroduce primates to the wild.

11. Cleaning Trainer will explain and show methods for cleaning.
You’re going to get your hands dirty.
Your trainer will go over specifics to each area as to what is required to clean.
Don’t worry about cleaning quickly to start out. Just get it clean. Speed will come with time and experience.

12. Regular Cleaning
Ensure all hard surfaces are washed at least once a day or as frequently as necessary to keep them free from contamination.
Clean benches, shelves, ropes and climbing structures frequently enough to prevent the accumulation of fecal matter and urine.
Where possible and especially in small enclosures, daily spot-clean soil and other natural substrates to remove organic waste.
After using disinfectant, thoroughly rinse watering devices, feeding equipment and other metal or plastic equipment.
Provide primates with access to dry areas during and after the cleaning process.

13. Additional Things to Keep in Mind
Ensure all enclosures allow access to an area such as a satellite cage, sleeping cage, or night den, suitable for the physical isolation of individuals so that animals can be restricted for close examination and veterinary treatment.
Ensure that when possible, all transfers of adult primates from one location to another are conducted in such a manner that caregivers and primates are not sharing common space.
Consider that all infant primates require physical contact with their mother or a surrogate to ensure normal psychological and social development. Sanctuaries that care for infant primates have appropriate contact protocols

14. Other Duties Enclosure and equipment maintenance Pest control
Reintroduction
Promote normal species behavior
First: It became clear that many were facing similar challenges and could learn a lot from each other, but weren’t communicating. In fact they were wary of cooperating with each other because they often competed for funding.
Last: It was really formed by the wildlife centers.

15. Social Groups Human interference and contact should be minimal.
Non-human primates are housed in social groups at all times.
The only exception is during quarantine in the weeks after arrival or if an individual is injured or suspected to harbor an infectious disease.

16. Social Groups & Monitoring
Monitor social groups daily for aggression, injuries, and other anti-social behavior.
While animals are feeding, observe them for injuries and anti-social behavior and to ensure all individuals receive appropriate amounts of food.
Ensure that animals are actually eating what is being fed (i.e. not preferentially taking certain items).
For great apes & small groups of monkeys, visually account for each individual at each feeding; for large groups of monkeys count individuals at least daily.

17. Thank you!
PASAprimates.org facebook.com/PASAprimates
Please get in touch if you have questions or want to discuss anything.
You can read our latest news on Facebook.
Any questions?

18. The PASA Primate Care Training Program is made possible by a generous grant from Fondation Brigitte Bardot.