Cango Strengthens Welfare Standards Through National Professional Development

For Jenna, the experience was both motivating and professionally enriching. She explained that the programme focused on welfare foundations, animal training and enrichment, and that delegates were placed into groups to generate ideas, problem solve and share knowledge. In her words, “We had the opportunity to work together, share our experience and challenge our thinking around how and why we care for animals the way we do”. She added that the workshop reinforced the importance of empathy as the starting point for excellent animal care and reminded her that ongoing learning is essential for a facility that wants to lead in modern conservation and welfare standards.

Siyabonga described the workshop as a turning point in how he views daily animal care. He spoke about how caretakers sometimes fall into routine and explained, you clean, feed and close, but animals do not live in a checklist. They live through emotion, sensation and experience. For him, the workshop highlighted that animal care is not about convenience, it is about understanding behaviour and feeling, and making decisions that support emotional wellbeing. He shared that one message stayed with him strongly: apathy holds us back, but empathy moves everything forward. He returned eager to translate this learning into everyday practice, saying, “I know these training ideas, but hearing them explained in a new way opened my mind and changed how I think. I am excited to start applying what we learned here at Cango”.

The programme included hands on training sessions, enrichment construction skills and a unique learning exercise where participants experienced training from the perspective of the animal. This deepened their appreciation for timing, clarity, patience and trust, which are essential for positive reinforcement training and ethical behaviour shaping.

This opportunity reflects Cango Wildlife's commitment to continuous professional development and evidence based welfare practice. As a facility known for putting animal welfare first, we remain dedicated to staying current with global best practice and advancing our knowledge in a rapidly evolving field. Workshops like this strengthen our existing foundation of premium care and ensure that our team remains informed, skilled and forward thinking in modern conservation work.

We are proud of Jenna and Siyabonga for representing our team with passion and professionalism. Their learning supports the advanced standard of care already provided at our facility and helps us continue to lead with empathy, science and purpose.