Trainer Academy|by trainers for trainers!

ABC Dolphin Trainer Academy had the honor to do a workshop at this year’s 37th International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) annual conference in Atlanta, GA. The workshop was called Career Building and we had three experienced instructors who provided tips and insights regarding career options, how to build resumes and how to do successful interviews. The response from those who participated in this workshop has been overwhelming. It was a true joy to meet many of you after the workshop and I continue to receive emails from those of you interested in pursuing a career in marine mammal training and I am humbled by your enthusiasm, passion and determination.

Together we will continue to improve the quality of the animal’s lives living under our care. You are the industries future and indeed I see a promising future for you and the animals you will care for. For those of you fortunate enough to attend the IMATA conference the theme was Teamwork and we all walked away I think with a true sense of what that means for us each and every day in our schools, jobs, and family.

Keep up the good work, and hopefully we will see you at next years IMATA conference in Boston for Career Building 2, the ABC Dolphin Trainer Academy is committed to you and we work hard every day towards our mission: to promote careers in marine mammal training and provide students with skills and knowledge to elevate their careers.

ABC Dolphin Trainer Academy at Dolphin Discovery, Isla Mujeres

Beth Ament, CVT and Animal Behavior Consultant

My training career began in 1988 at the Milwaukee County Zoo (MCZ) providing marine mammal educational programs to the public. During my 10 years with the zoo I assisted in developing public interactive programs with pinnipeds. During my period of work in MCZ, my role was expanded to consult with the rest of the zoo collection to provided behavioral consultation to many of the other zoo species to develop and implement a program of husbandry behaviors. I was anxious to work with other species and facilities as I could see how advantageous these training techniques were for the zoo keepers, veterinarians, and the animals, so I began my own behavioral consultancy. I consulted with Como Zoo in St. Paul, MN training the aquatics staff with the pinnipeds. This work grew into working with gorillas, orangutans, big cats, hoof stock and several other species, including birds and reptiles. My consultancy has expanded to include the Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines, IA with providing educational programs and husbandry training for the pinniped collection and husbandry training and keeper chats with the big cat facility. The training program has grown to a zoo-wide training program to include many other species. In addition, I continue to provide training seminars and training program evaluations to many zoos in the Midwest region.
I am also the co-founder and Executive Administrator for African Predator Conservation Research Organization (APCRO). www.apcro.org I received my Certified Veterinary Technician certificate in 2004 and I am currently a licensed veterinary technician.