Zoo Animal Welfare

Dr Paul Rose gained his PhD in 2018, investigating the behaviour and welfare of captive flamingos using a variety of methodological approaching including social networks analysis. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Psychology Department at the University of Exeter where he specialises in animal behaviour. Paul also works for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) where he manages the Animal Welfare & Ethics Committee, the Academic Lead for the Wetland Learning Hub and is a research associate for WWT’s captive animal research programme. Paul is also a lecturer on the MSc Zoo Biology course for University Centre Sparsholt. Paul also delivers an MSc module in biodiversity conservation for Birkbeck College, University of London. As a member of Defra’s Zoos Expert Committee, Paul writes and reviews policy pertaining to the running and licencing of zoos and aquariums. Paul is a member of the IUCN SSC Flamingo Specialist Group and the IUCN SSC Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group. He is a member of the steering committee for the BIAZA Bird Working Group, and a member of the BIAZA Animal Welfare Working Group. Paul is involved with three European (EAZA) Taxon Advisory Groups (Gruiformes, Charadriiforms, Anseriformes) and with the North American (AZA) Waterfowl TAG in an educational advisor capacity. Paul completed his first piece of in-zoo research in 2002 and has been professionally involved in zoo animal behaviour and welfare in an academic and practitioner capacity since 2006. His research predominantly focusses on behaviour and welfare, and evidence for zoo husbandry. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. Paul’s first book, “The Behavioural Biology of Zoo Animals” was published in 2022.

Zoë Newnham is a senior animal keeper in the Hoofstock Department at Marwell Zoo and a sessional lecturer at University Centre Sparsholt where she teaches on higher education programmes pertaining to animal management and zoo biology. She is also a partner associate lecturer for the University of Portsmouth. Zoë started her zoo keeping career in 2008 at the New Forest Wildlife Park, working with many British and European species and in wildlife rehabilitation for native species. Zoë has a BSc (hons) in Animal Management (2011) and an MSc in Applied Zoo Biology (2023). Zoë’s current zookeeping career focuses on ungulates and she has researched the nutrition of captive browsing species for her postgraduate research. She has published work on training of okapi to assist with health and veterinary-related procedures and has contributed to the textbook “The Behavioural Biology of Zoo Animals” writing about how zookeepers use behavioural evidence in their roles. Zoë is a trustee of the zoo-focussed charity “Browse Poster”, a professional member of the Association of British & Irish Wild Animal Keepers (ABWAK), a member of the Southampton Natural History Society (SNHS), a member of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) and a member of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW).

Ian Hickey is Enclosure Development Manager at Chester Zoo where he looks after the animal enclosure upgrades and enhancements for all species, while representing the Animal & Plant Department throughout the design and construction process for new, large-scale animal exhibits. Ian moved to the UK from Ireland in 2006 to study BSc (Hons) Animal Management at Sparsholt College Hampshire and he subsequently obtained his MSc in Wild Animal Biology from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010. Ian has worked for the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) where he delivered their 2010 Elephant Management Audit and spent five years as a zookeeper at Blair Drummond Safari Park and then Chester Zoo (before moving into his current role). His work now involves ensuring that each new development meets the needs of both animals and keeping staff within the spaces being created. Ian is also a consultant for zoo design consultancy Dearadh Zú, having contributed to developments at zoos and safari parks throughout the UK, and is a qualified Accreditation Screener for BIAZA. Ian has contributed the elephant chapter to the textbook “Behavioural Biology of Zoo Animals” and has presented at various zoo research conferences on his undergraduate and postgraduate work.