Evidence-Based Animal Welfare
create data-driven, keeper-led welfare programs that elevate your entire facility.
Photo courtesy of ZooWorld
You know your animals deserve the highest standard of care, but accurately measuring and proving their wellbeing can be a challenge. When animal welfare relies purely on subjective observations, facilities often find themselves reacting to problems rather than preventing them.
Led by Dr. Kelly George, The KUZO Group bridges the gap between daily husbandry and animal welfare science. We help you build customized, data-driven welfare programs that empower your staff and ensure your animals thrive, focusing on welfare as the top priority regardless of accreditation goals.
ANIMAL WELFARE
Consulting SERVICES
Animal Welfare Science & Assessment Workshops
Empower your team to measure and define wellbeing.
Program Implementation & Data Tracking
Transforming concepts into a daily, facility-wide culture.
Environmental Design Consultation
A long-term partnership for continuous improvement.
ANIMAL WELFARE CONSULTING
OUR PROCESS
Through an in-person, expert-led workshop, you and your staff will gain practical, immediately applicable tools for strengthening animal welfare practices. The interactive format allows participants to ask questions, discuss real-world scenarios, align as a team, and receive guidance tailored to your facility’s specific needs.
Step 1: Build a shared foundation.
Develop a clear understanding of the differences between animal welfare and animal rights so staff can communicate confidently and consistently with colleagues, stakeholders, and the public.
Step 2: Learn what to measure and how to measure it.
Identify key objective indicators of animal welfare and learn how to assess them accurately through expert demonstration, discussion, and practical examples.
Step 3: Turn observations into action.
Practice prioritizing welfare-related action items and creating a sustainable system for continuous improvement, with expert guidance on what changes will have the greatest impact.
Step 4: Recognize individual animal needs.
Strengthen staff awareness of individual differences among animals and how those differences influence welfare, behavior, care decisions, and long-term outcomes.
Step 5: Create a cohesive, facility-wide welfare program.
Learn how to connect assessment, staff training, daily care routines, and long-term planning into a holistic program that supports optimal animal welfare across the organization.
Animal Welfare Science & Assessment Workshops
Empower your team to measure and define wellbeing.
It’s hard to make meaningful changes without objective data. We bring the science directly to your team through hands-on workshops, teaching your keepers the most current, scientifically backed techniques for observing and quantifying animal welfare. Your staff walks away feeling invested in the process and equipped to evaluate their animals objectively.
The Challenge
Your staff is incredibly dedicated, but their welfare assessments are often subjective, making it difficult to track long-term trends or make evidence-based husbandry changes.
Our Solution
We bring the science directly to your team through on-site assessment training workshops. We teach your keepers the most current, scientifically backed techniques for observing, measuring, and quantifying animal welfare.
The Result
A staff that feels invested in the process and possesses the technical skills to objectively evaluate the animals in their care.
Program Implementation & Data Tracking
Transforming concepts into a daily, facility-wide culture.
It’s hard to make meaningful changes without objective data. We bring the science directly to your team through hands-on workshops, teaching your keepers the most current, scientifically backed techniques for observing and quantifying animal welfare. Your staff walks away feeling invested in the process and equipped to evaluate their animals objectively.
The Challenge
You are trying to elevate your facility's welfare standards, but you lack the internal bandwidth to build a comprehensive program from scratch, or your staff is pushing back on the new administrative workload.
Our Solution
We move beyond the theory to help you build the machine through a hands-on workshop. We guide the creation and implementation of team-driven welfare programs based on current animal welfare science, ensuring the data collection is practical for keepers on the ground.
The Result
A streamlined, facility-wide welfare program that turns daily data into actionable insights, allowing for proactive—rather than reactive—animal management. Upon completion, the facility receives a customized data-tracking assessment tool and a formal written welfare framework. Additionally, facilities can add on a complete welfare assessment performed by Dr. George to provide recommendations for priority action items.
Environmental Design Consultation
Building habitats that promote choice, control, and natural behaviors.
Whether you are breaking ground on a new enclosure or retrofitting an old one, the physical space must actively support the animal’s psychological wellbeing. We consult on habitat design through a strict welfare lens, focusing not only on species-specific natural behaviors but also on individual animal demeanor, affect, and behavior. This allows us to design an exhibit that is functional for both training and guest experience, while focusing on creating an environment appropriate for the animal’s habitat, which ensures the best welfare opportunities.
The Challenge
You are building a new enclosure or retrofitting an old one, and you want to ensure the physical space actively supports the psychological and physical wellbeing of the species.
Our Solution
We consult on the physical design of your animal spaces through a strict welfare lens. Our approach focuses not only on species-specific natural behaviors but also on individual animal demeanor, affect, and behavior.
The Result
Dynamic, welfare-friendly environments that are functional for both training and guest experience. This ensures the environment is appropriate for the animal's habitat and provides the best welfare opportunities.