Carnivores: Use food as a reward in animal training

Overall effectiveness category No evidence found (no assessment)
Number of studies: 0
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Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

not assessed

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Background information and definitions

Positive human-animal relationships are discussed as a form of enrichment for captive animals. Using food as positive reinforcer for animal training is commonly used to help with veterinary and husbandry procedures. This form of training aims to reduce the potential stress experienced by an animal when in close proximity to humans (Claxton, 2011).

Claxton, A.M. 2011. The potential of the human-animal relationships as an environmental enrichment for the welfare of zoo-housed animals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 133,1-10.

Key messages

No evidence was captured for the effects of using food as a reward in animal training on captive carnivores.

'No evidence' for an action means we have not yet found any studies that directly and quantitatively tested this action during our systematic journal and report searches. Therefore we have been unable to assess whether or not the action is effective or has any harmful impacts. Please get in touch if you know of such a study for this action.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Please cite as:

Jonas, C.S., Timbrell, L.L., Young, F., Petrovan, S.O., Bowkett, A.E. & Smith, R.K. (2020) Management of Captive Animals. Pages 527-553 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

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This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Management of Captive Animals

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Carnivores: Present food frozen in ice Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	4	Synopsis Link
Carnivores: Provide devices to simulate live prey, including sounds, lures, pulleys and bungees Action Link	Trade-off between benefit and harms	3	Synopsis Link
Carnivores: Hide food around enclosure Action Link	Beneficial	6	Synopsis Link