Optimal Wellbeing of Ageing Wild Animals in Human Care

Sabrina Brando is the director of AnimalConcepts, uniting people and organisation on 6 continents through interconnected online platforms combining animal, people, and planetary wellbeing. She is a psychologist with a MSc in Animal Studies and currently pursues a PhD at the University of Stirling in Scotland focusing on human wellbeing at an individual, leadership, and organisational level in zoos and aquariums. Since 2009 Sabrina is an instructor on the Primate Care Training Program for the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, in 2019 she became a Research Associate with the Smithsonian Institution and is a graduate of the Inner MBA class of 2022. She is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional and Optimize Eudaimonia Coach.

Sabrina teaches at various universities and colleges as well as working with many zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and other facilities worldwide, on topics such as animal wellbeing, behaviour, environmental enrichment, animal training, habitat design, and the human-animal relationship. AnimalConcepts has organised over 500 events worldwide since 2004, and Sabrina is a frequent invited and keynote speaker. She serves on zoo expert groups and collaborates on a wide variety of research projects. Sabrina serves as a reviewer on academic journals, contributes chapters to animal wellbeing books, and has extensively published popular and academic articles. She also works with governments writing policies and guidelines.

AnimalConcepts ‘One Care' approach is based on optimal wellbeing for all, based on the premis that compassionate and holistic self-care (individuals) and we-care (teams, leadership and organisational) approaches combined will support the commitment and desire of serving animals, people, and the environment.

Sarah Chapman qualified as a vet in June 2000 and is an experienced zoo veterinary surgeon having worked with mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates in anumber of large zoos in the United Kingdom. She worked at Woburn Safari Park then at Paignton Zoo as Associate Veterinarian. She was Head of Veterinary Services for Twycross Zoo working with all four types of great apes and large mammals including big cats and hoof stock especially elephants. She was an Honorary Assistant Professor of the University of Nottingham Veterinary and developed the zoo’s residency programme. In 2015, she became a RCVS recognised specialist in zoo and wildlife medicine having completed her certificate and diploma in this field. She has also completed a master’s degree in Wild Animal Health working on Gorilla pathology as her dissertation. She has spent time teaching in China and Romania, speaking at international conferences and in Cameroon doing veterinary work with rescued primates.  She is currently co-director of Chapman Zoo Consultancy providing specialist services to zoological collections and mentoring and training to veterinary and zoo professionals.  She is an inspector for local authorities with respect to animal welfare and zoo licensing and has undertaken international work including zoo welfare assessments in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Her main interests include ageing animal care and providing optimal welfare for any animal under human care.