What is ABMA?
The Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation with a membership comprised of animal care professionals and other individuals interested in enhancing animal care through training and enrichment.  The ABMA is intended to be nurturing and informative, and was created to serve trainers, handlers, and keepers of animals, irrespective of species, with information and assistance in the behavior management of their charges.


Our Mission

The Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) continually strives to advance intentional and enlightened behavior management to improve the lives and welfare of all animals.


Our Vision

To be a global leader dedicated to advancing animal welfare through excellence in behavior management.


Our Core Values

  1. Behavior management is an essential component of animal welfare.
  2. Environmental enrichment and positive reinforcement training are highly effective strategies for managing and modifying behavior.
  3. Goal-based enrichment, designed to offer animals behavioral opportunities, is an essential component of all animal programs.
  4. Positive reinforcement training is our most effective and ethical method of behavior modification.
  5. Human and animal safety must be at the core of an animal behavior management program.
  6. Learning should be conducted in a nurturing and non-threatening environment for both animals and people.
  7. Science-based methods of assessment are a valuable tool for evaluating, refining, and advancing behavior management strategies.
  8. Behavior management can advance conservation by helping to mitigate human-animal conflict in wild populations, facilitating in situ conservation efforts, and maintaining behaviorally and physically healthy captive populations.
  9. Pro-active behavior management is an essential component of responsible animal care since learning is always occurring.
  10. The sharing of knowledge and new ideas is fundamental to advancing animal behavior management.