Historically, horse trainers have relied primarily upon repetition, negative reinforcement, and punishment to teach new behaviors. Positive reinforcement has been eschewed, largely on the basis of the wides read belief that positive reinforcement is not effective with horses. Additional difficulties in the timely application of such reinforcement have further inhibited its use. After repeated pairing of an auditory stimulus with an established primary reinforcer, the auditory stimulus was predicted to be a reinforcer. An equine subject was then successfully trained to perform five different, novel tasks using only the auditory stimulus. Subsequently, extinction of behavior was noted in the absence of the conditioned reinforcer. Implications for many phases of horse training were discussed. Some weaknesses of the present study were noted along with suggested issues for future investigations.

The use of Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) for co-operation during routine husbandry and laboratory procedures is widely advocated as a means of promoting the welfare of nonhuman primates. However, while research originating in US zoos provide qualitative descriptions of how PRT may be used in the training of a wide variety of species, quantitative data and evidence to support the view that PRT reduces stress predominately comes from laboratory studies of primates whose training may have used other methods. Despite official guidelines, training is rarely carried out in the UK and the educational and wider organisational structures concerning training, present in the US are largely absent. The techniques used in the UK were assessed through detailed observations recorded when four stump-tailed macaques were trained to co-operate during venipuncture. Data recorded during training sessions showed that although food rewards were given, their delivery was slow and inconsistent. A certain amount of coercion was used which violates a principle of PRT which states that co-operation should be voluntary. The macaques showed increasing resistance to the process and a mild but detrimental effect on the subsequent behaviour of the study animals. When training resumed 18 months later there were considerable improvements in the techniques used. The macaques showed a greater willingness to participate and there were no significant changes in their behaviour when training days were compared to those when training did not take place. The behaviour of the macaques during venipuncture was judged to be arising from engineered compliance rather than voluntary co-operation. However, it was concluded that the technique observed, if carried out correctly, was a reasonable compromise between forced restraint and voluntary co-operation given the paucity of evidence showing the effectiveness of PRT for invasive procedures. However, it was also concluded that the use of coercion should be recognised and provide a focus for future refinement. The effectiveness and welfare implications ofPRT was assessed through the training of common marmosets to target and allow in-homecage weighing and to provide urine samples. It was found that the trained animals perfonned reliably and that time invested in training could be recouped through faster data collection. Following a period of training or increased positive contact with humans, observations of marmoset behaviour showed a decrease in stress related behaviours and an increase in allogrooming supporting the view that improved relations with humans had a beneficial effect. Following exposure to a mild stressor, trained marmosets showed no elevation in levels of urinary cortisol or stress related behaviours. Untrained animals showed increased levels of locomoting and selfscratching following exposure to the same stressor. It was concluded that PRT successfully reduced the stress associated with the presence of, and manipulation by, humans. Final recommendations were that training can promote the welfare of nonhuman primates and should be used in UK laboratories to a greater extent than is currently the case. However, the lack of educational opportunities for animal trainers in the UK needs to be addressed. It was also recommended that in light of the growing evidence showing the benefits that can arise from training and good relations with humans, the zero-handling policy practiced in many UK zoos should be reassessed.

Whilst there has been a recent increase in interest in using positive reinforcement training for laboratory-housed primates, there remains a reluctance to put into practice training programmes. Much of this reticence seems to stem from lack of expertise in the running of training programmes, and a perception that training requires a large time investment, with concurrent staff costs. The aim of this thesis was to provide practical recommendations for the use of training programmes in laboratories, providing primate users and carestaff with background information needed to successfully implement training programmes whilst improving the welfare of the animals in their care. Training was carried out with two species, cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) in three different research laboratories to ensure practicability was as wide ranging as possible. Training success and the time investment required were closely related to the primate's temperament, most notably an individual's willingness to interact with humans, in both common marmosets and cynomolgus macaques. Age and sex however had no effect on an individual's trainability. The training of common marmosets was more successful than that with cynomolgus macaques, possibly due to differences in early experience and socialisation. Positive reinforcement training helped both species to cope with the stress of cage change or cleaning, with the monkeys showing less anxiety-related behaviour following the training programme than before. Involving two trainers in the training process did not affect the speed at which common marmosets learned to cooperate with transport box training, but behavioural observations showed that initial training sessions with a new trainer led to animals experiencing some anxiety. This however was relatively transient. Whilst the training of common marmosets to cooperate with hand capture was possible, there seemed little benefit in doing so as the monkeys did not show a reduced behavioural or physiological stress response to trained capture as compared to hand capture prior to training. However strong evidence was found that following both training and positive human interactions the marmosets coped better with capture and stress was reduced. It is recommended that an increased use of early socialisation would benefit laboratory-housed primates, and would also help improve the success of training. Further, the time investment required shows that training is practicable in the laboratory for both species, and that positive reinforcement training is an important way of improving their welfare likely through reducing boredom and fear.

Zoological institutions emphasise the importance of excelling in the areas of animal welfare, conservation, education, and research, not only to better the lives of the animals under their care, but to also influence the general population in the pursuit to conserve the natural world. As a result, zoo life is anything but simple. This research project monitored the lives of a captive group of chimpanzees over a two-and-a-half-year period, during which time we explored four research topics while assessing the development of a cognitive research programme and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) introductions in a zoo: welfare, cognition, public engagement with science, and animal management. The project’s use of touchscreen technology and on-exhibit research was the first of its kind for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo. As a result, the researchers placed a great deal of importance not only on assessing the welfare of the chimpanzees throughout training and testing phases, but also assessing the public’s perception of cognitive research being conducted through an internationally broadcast documentary about the project. In the short duration of the project, these research naïve chimpanzees did not fully grasp the concept of video selection in our free-choice activity, but overall, the introduction of a cognitive research programme did not compromise welfare, and the chimpanzees’ repeated interest suggests that chimpanzees found the research to be reinforcing. Partly funded by the BBC, the Chimpcam Project was shown in the UK (broadcast January 2010) and in a variety of other countries, including the United States and Canada (on Animal Planet in 2011). The broadcast allowed us to gather information over the internet on the wider public’s perception of conducting research with great apes in zoos, to complement data collected on visitors to the exhibit itself. Our assessment of the documentary’s impact on public perception showed that it had a positive influence on perceptions of zoo research, scientists, welfare, and the importance of choice for animals. During this research project, a new group of chimpanzees arrived in Edinburgh as part of the international breeding programme for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). As the zoo’s focus switched to helping the two chimpanzee groups merge into one, we took the opportunity to apply psychological research to this context, namely the use of video as a research tool and the recognition of the importance of individual differences in response to challenge. The project maintained the cognition and welfare focus by using video introductions (allowing the chimpanzees to watch video footage of the individuals they were about to meet and track the formation of other sub-groups). In addition, personality ratings and chimpanzee behaviour during the visual access period (an animal management technique used prior to physical introductions where the groups could see each other without physical contact) were collected to examine the efficacy of these measures in guiding introductions in order to reduce risk. Personality ratings and behaviours observed during the video introductions could predict the chimpanzees’ behaviour during the physical introductions, however, the visual access period had no predictive power. The welfare implications of the introduction process were also assessed and suggested that: the choice of location (i.e. options of where to be) was more important than the total amount of available space; having individuals removed from your group was more stressful than having individuals added; self-directed behaviour (SDB) performance was context-specific where rubbing significantly increased during periods of uncertainty that were not necessarily negatively valenced; regurgitation and reingestion (R/R) decreased over time; and both in-group members and those of high ranks spent more time grooming others. Overall our data indicate that the chimpanzees coped well with both cognitive challenges and social upheaval during introductions. Despite being regularly studied in captivity and in the wild, chimpanzees have a great deal more to teach us about their world. In order to provide the best welfare for the chimpanzees in our care, we need to understand how research and management practices affect their lives and how the public interpret what we do as researchers. By understanding these aspects of their world, we can better serve those in captivity and influence public opinion on the importance of conserving those in the wild.