It's Island Time! The ABMA invites you to join us in Galveston, TX in 2025 and help celebrate our 25th anniversary!
The conference theme is New Perspectives: Unlocking Strategies For Success
Dates: 27 April - 2 May 2025
Location: Moody Gardens Hotel is the conference hotel.
A portion of your conference registration fee will go towards this amazing organization.
ABMA Merchandise Available!
Upload your conference photos here! **By uploading your photo(s) you agree to the ABMA digital media general disclaimer: The undersigned (the "Photographer") hereby irrevocably grants to the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (the “ABMA") full and complete permission to use the submitted digital media in any ABMA publication, including, but not limited to, use in Behavior Month, Engage, illustrations, internet content, and other outlets of publication and marketing. With the exception of the foregoing, the ABMA makes no claims to ownership of the submitted digital media and ownership rights are retained by the Photographer.
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Conference Policies Code of Conduct · {C}Be aware of your surroundings at all times. · {C}Regardless of where you are, use the buddy system when walking to and from the conference location, networking event locations especially during early or late hours. · {C}Don’t wear your meeting badge on the street. Take it off as soon as you leave the venue. · {C}Don’t carry a lot of cash or credit cards. · {C}Don’t leave personal property unattended anywhere, anytime.
In an emergency, you should ask any ABMA leadership or the on-site security personnel to help you.
· Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination in any form. · Any abuse, including physical, verbal or non-verbal abuse, of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ABMA representative, service provider, or any other meeting guest. · Disruption of presentations at sessions, in the exhibit hall, or at any events organized by ABMA at the meeting venue, hotels, or other ABMA contracted facilities. · Examples of unacceptable behavior include comments related to gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, ABMA team member, service provider, or other meeting guest. Sexual Harassment · Physical conduct · Physical violence, including sexual assault · Unwelcome physical contact or inappropriate touching · The use of threats or rewards to solicit sexual favors Verbal conduct · Comments or insults based on appearance, age, private life, etc. · Sexual comments, stories or jokes · Sexual advances · Repeated and unwanted social invitations for dates or physical intimacy · Condescending or sexist remarks · Sending sexually explicit messages (by phone or email) Non-verbal conduct · Display of sexually explicit or suggestive material or images · Sexually-suggestive gestures · Whistling or “cat calling”
Reporting Unacceptable Conduct Jake Belair, ABMA Vice President Anaka Nazareth ABMA President
· Verbal or written warning; · Suspension of attendance at ABMA sponsored events; · Prohibit attendance at any future meeting The ABMA team member receiving the report will respect any and all requests of the victim to remain anonymous. Unacceptable conduct may be part of a larger pattern of repeated harassment. Please alert ABMA to all such conduct regardless of the offender’s identity or job title, even if you prefer your report to remain anonymous.
BMF TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP Did you know that ABMA’s Behavior Management Fund (BMF) committee will provide a travel scholarship for the 2025 annual conference? This scholarship is to assist anyone whose institution is unable to give them financial support. This will help an award recipient have the ability to present their work and help the organization by giving our membership the opportunity to hear information that supports the ABMA’s Core Value of “Sharing the Knowledge”. Submit your scholarship application!
If you have a behavior management accomplishment, an intriguing case study, a research project, or an innovation for the field, especially one that resonates with the theme of the conference, please come share it with your colleagues! The abstract submission details for the 2025 annual conference are below. Submit your abstract! Conference Pricing: Pricing for the conference is listed below. We are excited to provide food for all but 2 meals. That's right, food is included with your registration! You must login to receive the member rate. Registration will open soon. Come celebrate our 25th anniversary! Reciprocity Registration: If you are registering as a reciprocity member from AAZK or IMATA, use this registration form AND contact our CFO for payment. The ABMA reserves the right to deny the member rate upon verifying your member status- if you are not a member of AAZK or IMATA you will be charged the non-member rate. CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS: Your credit card transaction will appear on your credit card statement from PayPal as either THEABMA or THEANIMALBEHAVIOR. If you file a dispute over an ABMA transaction, either with your credit card company or PayPal, which turns out to be an approved ABMA transaction, you will incur any PayPal fees (~$20) associated with resolving this error for which the ABMA was charged. EARLY Registration: *The weekly registration includes the icebreaker, all presentations, site visit, silent auction, poster presentations, and the banquet. You do not need to purchase any of these items from the a la cart menu. The pre-conference workshop and post conference trip are NOT included in the weekly registration and will need to be purchased separately. ABMA conference T shirts ($15) and Missison Wildlife sweatshirts ($50) are available for purchase when you register and will be guaranteed your size. 
Member Weekly Early registration- $599 available for purchase until 28 Feb 2025. The next day, 1 March, the price increases. Non-member Weekly Early registration- $675 available for purchase until 28 Feb 2025. The next day, 1 March, the price increases. Non-member Daily Early registration $270 available for purchase from now until 28 Feb 2025. The next day, 1 March, the price increases. REGULAR Registration: No registrations 1 week before the conference; however, there will be on-site registration. *The weekly registration includes the icebreaker, all presentations, site visit, silent auction, poster presentations, and the banquet. You do not need to purchase any of these items from the a la cart menu. The pre-conference workshop and post conference trip are NOT included in the weekly registration and will need to be purchased separately. ABMA conference T shirts and Mission Wildlife sweatshirts are available for purchase; however, size may not be guaranteed as we have to submit our order before regular registration closes. Member Full Weekly registration- $650 available for purchase from 1 March to 17 April 2025. The next day, 18 April, no weekly registrations will be available for purchase until the conference starts on 27 April. Non-member Full Weekly registration- $725 available for purchase from 1 March to 17 April 2025. The next day, 18 April, no weekly registrations will be available for purchase until the conference starts on 27 April. Non-member Daily Full registration- $325 available for purchase from 1 March to 20 April March 2025. Virtual Conference Registration: All conference attendees will have complimentary access to animalprofessional.com for a limited time to watch permission-granted conference presentations. ABMA members always have access! Virtual weekly member registration $750 available for purchase from now until 20 April 2025. Virtual weekly non-member registration $850 available for purchase from now until 20 April 2025. Virtual daily registration $225 available for purchase from now until 20 April 2025. Virtual facility registration with 4 logins $2000 available for purchase from now until 20 April 2025. Virtual facility registration with 6 logins $2500 available for purchase from now until 20 April 2025. Member On-site Weekly registration- $699 available for purchase from 27 April-2 May 2025. Non-member On-site Weekly registration- $775 available for purchase from 27 April-2 May 2025. Onsite Member Daily Registration- $375 available for purchase from 27 April-2 May 2025. Onsite Non-member Daily Registration- $425 available for purchase from 27 April-2 May 2025. Pre Conference workshop, member $150 on Sunday 27 April 2025 from 9-5. Location: Moody Gardens Hotel Pre Conference workshop, non-member $199 on Sunday 27 April 2025 from 9-5. Location: Moody Gardens Hotel Sunday, 27 April- Pre-conference workshop, registration, ice breaker Meals provided: lunch for workshop; heavy hors d'oeuvres at icebreaker Monday, 28 April- keynote speaker, presentations, poster presentations, professional development night Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break, heavy hors d'oeuvres Tuesday, 29 April- presentations, Research Openness panel, poster presentations, silent auction Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break, heavy hors d'oeuvres Wednesday, 30 April- presentations, poster presentations Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break *dinner on your own Thursday, 1 May- Member business meeting, Zoo Day! Meals provided: breakfast, lunch *dinner on your own Friday, 2 May- presentations, poster presentations, banquet Meals provided: morning break, lunch, afternoon break, banquet meal Saturday, 3 May- post-conference trip to Houston Zoo **See program for a more detailed schedule** Contact us if you have any questions. REFUND POLICY: 100% until 30 days before the start of the conference 50% from 29 days until 8 days before the conference No refunds starting the week before the conference CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS (CEU’s): We typically offer CEU’s for a variety of organizations. Once the program is finalized we will submit for credits and post here. These are the organizations we typically provide CEU's for. If you need CEU's for another organization just let us know. IAABC- IATCB- CCPDT- NAI- We look forward to seeing you in Galveston!
The Moody Gardens Hotel is the conference hotel.
There are TWO airports in Houston. Houston Hobby (HOU) is the closest airport to Galveston Island. Yes, Galveston is an island! Hobby is a HUB for Southwest and is a minimum 45 minutes away. Bush Intercontinental (IAH) is the larger airport and the furthest away from the island. It's a HUB for United and is a minimum 75 minutes away. Our annual conference would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring, the Galveston sponsorship packet is available to view here or by clicking the photo below. Vendor booth space is available! You can also contact us for more information. The 25th annual ABMA Conference is pleased to announce several Pre and Post conference opportunities.Pre-Conference We have TWO exciting pre-conference opportunities. Option 1: Pre-Conference Workshop, Sunday 27 April
Maximum attendees- 30 Cost: Member- $150, Non-member- $199 Option 2: FeatherFest, Saturday 26 April and Sunday 27 April  Calling ALL Birders and Photographers! If you are a birder then you need to experience FeatherFest! The ABMA conference is scheduled at the height of migratory bird season for the upper Texas coast. We will provide an early bird registration link for FeatherFest so you can participate in some unique birding opportunities. This will not be managed by the ABMA; it will all be managed by FeatherFest. However, please let us know you will be attending by checking the FeatherFest box on the conference registration form. We want to provide you with contact information to make sure if you have any issues that you have a local to assist you! Depending on the tour(s) you choose, lunch will either be provided or on your own. Post Conference A trip to the Houston Zoo for $50 will be available to explore at your leisure. This will be a one-way trip on Saturday, 3 May . Arrive at the zoo at 10am where you can stay until closing (4pm). Luggage will be stored in a secured room while you explore the zoo. You can leave for the airport from the zoo at any time, or choose to stay Saturday night at a hotel closer to the airport to catch your flight. More BTS details coming soon! There will be one site visit for the 2025 ABMA conference. We will be visiting Moody Gardens, which is on the same property as the hotel. It's just a short walk across the parking lot! Moody Gardens has graciously extended your badge entry to the Aquarium and Rainforest pyramids all week with your ABMA badge.
There are many questions you may have about the upcoming annual conference in Galveston. If we have not addressed your question here, please contact us. The 2025 conference will be 6 days, including the icebreaker the evening before the conference officially kicks off. Each day will filled with learning and networking opportunities. There will be a zoo day at Moody Gardens. Questions? Contact us or the first VP directly. We look forward to seeing you soon! There will be a silent auction during the conference. Get Excited! We are excited to announce our keynote speaker for the 2025 conference will be Julie Scardina!
Julie has been recognized for her work with a variety of awards: an Emmy for educational programming, a US Fish & Wildlife Service award for conservation, a collegiate Hall of Fame induction, and IMATA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Julie serves on the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders advisory board, sharing knowledge and coaching up and coming leaders in the field of conservation. She is co-author of the award-winning book Wildlife Heroes, highlighting 40 conservationists and their work to save imperiled species. Julie believes “we can all be wildlife heroes - actions such as creating your own backyard habitat and making informed consumer choices make a big difference for the health of our planet and all its inhabitants.”
Learn more about the featured speakers for the 2025 ABMA conference. Details will be posted as they are finalized.
Medical research involving animals is often misunderstood, and, like all animals in managed care, the consequences of this lack of understanding can be devastating. Transparency and openness initiatives surrounding this important work are the best ways to improve public understanding and support animal welfare programs. We have experts in the field of research who will be completely transparent about this important work and answer your tough questions about animals in a research setting. • Understand why transparency regarding our work with animals in managed care is important and not something to shy away from. • Gain insight into Behavior Management Programs at research facilities. • Learn strategies on how to manage animal rights groups. • Discover how to utilize social media and community outreach in your openness strategy for your facility.
To be green, the ABMA does not hand out printed programs. We will have a Whova app for the 2025 conference. You can download the Whova app at any time; however, the ABMA conference within Whova will not be available to view until closer to the conference. Don't worry! We'll let you know when you can access the conference details. For feature details, visit Whova
ABMA Conference Program times are listed in Central (CST). The schedule is subject to change. Details will be posted as they are finalized. * Denotes presentation speaker(s) from a multi-authored paper. Below is our general schedule- a more detailed schedule will be posted in Spring 2025. Wednesday, 30 April Friday, 2 May Presentations We look forward to seeing you at the 2025 conference in Galveston! |
Join us for a unique and interactive class on “Hoof Dissection and Comparative Anatomy” performed by Paige Poss and hosted by the Animal Behavior Management Alliance! 
Julie Scardina is President and co-founder of Mission Wildlife, a non-profit organization dedicated to species conservation, bringing support to animals both locally and globally. 
Details will be posted as they are finalized. If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to seeing you in person in Galveston!
