An Assent-Based Training Programme for Waterfowl: Eye Examination Without Physical Manipulation or Restraint

Abstract While it is now broadly considered accepted practice to train animals so that they can be more active participants in their own care and management, standard practice for some bird species can still involve techniques that employ physical manipulation and restraint. In the author’s experience, this largely appears to be the case for waterfowl. In support of a more welfare-centred approach to managing all birds but particularly waterfowl, this case study describes an adult female whistling duck ( Dendrocygna guttata ) and her progression through a training programme designed to (i) facilitate an ophthalmological veterinary examination, and (ii) do so with the bird’s behavioural assent throughout, and therefore without physical manipulation and/or restraint. The duck accepted reinforcers from a free-standing perch (re-)introduced to her enclosure for training sessions, and through approximations towards the goal behaviour, was shaped to present her head with her left eye positioned for the application of anaesthetic eye drops. She was additionally habituated to the presence of multiple people in the examination area and some ophthalmological equipment. The duck was free to leave all training sessions at her discretion, had alternative options for accessing reinforcers, and reinforcers were not withheld outside of training sessions. This case study is an exemplar of waterfowl’s propensity for learning via human-animal interactions, and advocates for the use of training programmes that value animal welfare and agency as much as the acquisition of the goal behaviour. Information © The Author 2024