Presentation Details
Operationalizing Cooperative Care: Defining Assent, Dissent, and Minimum Procedural Requirements

Mindy R.Waite1, 2.

1School of Education and Health Sciences, Animal Behavior program, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI, USA.2School of Animal Sciences, Animal Behavior program, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA

Abstract


Cooperative care, also known as “voluntary husbandry,” refers to assent-based procedures used to assess animal cooperation during husbandry or veterinary procedures. Its goal is to reduce stress for animals and caretakers while using ethically robust methods that account for animal choice, effectiveness, and welfare. Although introduced in zoos decades ago, cooperative care has recently gained popularity in the animal behavior field. Despite this growth, it has not been clearly operationalized, making it difficult to identify the minimum procedural components required for a protocol to qualify as cooperative care. We recently proposed six literature-based requirements: caretaker consent; skill acquisition training; clearly defined assent behaviors for initiation and maintenance; clearly defined dissent and assent-withdrawal behaviors for pausing; programmed reinforcement of required behaviors; and minimization of coercion. This presentation reviews the history and current status of cooperative care, defines assent and dissent, proposes minimum component requirements, and highlights remaining empirical and conceptual questions.

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