The 5th annual Innovative Environmental Enrichment Symposium will be held October 2, 2011, at the San Diego, CA, Marriott Hotel and Marina. It is a satellite to the National AALAS meeting being held there, and it is hosted by Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Comparative Medicine. The purpose of this symposium is to highlight innovative animal enrichment and conditioning programs and to identify interesting leads for further investigation that may improve enrichment strategies in the laboratory research environment. Prospective attendants should visit <www.virtualvivarium.com/about-us/upcoming-events/environmental_enrichment_symposium.asp> for registration and information. There is no cost for registration or attendance.
The Orangutan SSP Husbandry Workshop 2011 will be held October 16–21 at the Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, Texas. See <www.cameronparkzoo.com/learnplay/conservation/orangutan-workshop/>.
A symposium, “Primatology in Peru: History, Current Status, and Perspectives”, will take place in Lima, Peru, October 18–21, 2011, with workshops and pre- and post-symposia on October 17, 18, and 22. In addition to workshops, the symposium will include invited speakers and oral and poster sessions. This symposium, organized by Yunkawasi, the Natural History Museum of the Principal University of San Marcos (Universidad Mayor de San Marcos), and the German Primate Center, is open to all interested persons. The site of the symposium is the School of Biological Sciences of Ricardo Palma University in Lima. For further information and to contact the organizers, see the symposium Website: <yunkawasiperu.org/evento-primates.html>.
The 3nd Leonardo Automation Club Symposium on “Lean Enterprise applied to vivarium operations and husbandry – improved operational efficiency, doubling the outcomes with the same human and physical resources; An ‘on time’ supply of required services” will be held in Buguggiate, Italy, October 24 to 25, 2011. This Symposium will focus on the Lean organization and management techniques as a proven approach to improving the ergonomics and working conditions of the staff and to cutting operating expenses in laboratory animal facilities, without jeopardizing research objectives, regulatory requirements, or animal care programs. The increasing pressure to optimize the efficient deployment of resources inevitably means reducing operating budgets, without neglecting maintenance of services for research and laboratory animal care programs. At the same time we experience a growing awareness and concern over repetitive and hazardous activities and the need to improve working conditions. The Leonardo Automation Club is an initiative of the Fondazione Guido Bernardini, the main objectives of which are to promote safety and ergonomics, hygiene standards and husbandry techniques in laboratory animal facilities, and, through the activities of the Club, to bring together a group of professionals with the same interests. For details, click the calendar at <www.fondazioneguidobernardini.org>.
The 29th Annual Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS meeting will be October 25–28, 2011, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Seattle, Washington, sponsored by the Washington National Primate Research Center. See <nhp2011.wanprc.org/> and <www.wanprc.org/wp-content/misc/nhp2011_ flier.pdf>.
A Walk on the Wild Side: a conference on IACUC oversight of wildlife research, with IACUC 101 Training, and a workshop on Animal Welfare Act compliance for studies of wildlife in the field and in captivity, will both be held October 26–28, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, organized by the American Society of Mammalogists and the Ornithological Council. For details, see <mysite.verizon.net/iacuc101>.
The Academy of Surgical Research’s 27th Annual Meeting will be held October 27–29, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency, Austin, Texas. See <www.surgicalresearch.org>.
In cooperation with AALAS and AAALAC, the 23rd Annual Conference Animal Research Facilities 2011 (Planning * Construction * Operations * Sustainability) will be held November 7–8, 2011, at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel (Nevada). See <www.TradelineInc.com/Animal2011>. There will also be three pre-conference courses. See <www.TradelineInc.com/Animal2011PreCon2>:
The Society for Neuroscience will hold Neuroscience 2011 November 12–16 in Washington, DC. See <www.sfn.org/AM2011>.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s 12th International Symposium on Biosafety, “Sustainability: People, Practices, Planet” , will be held February 11-15, 2012, at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia, Atlanta, Georgia. See <www.cdc.gov/biosafety>.
The 12th Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) Annual Conference will be held May 6–11, 2012, in San Francisco, and will feature a keynote address by Dr. Hal Markowitz, enrichment pioneer and author of the book, Behavioral Enrichment in the Zoo. An enrichment workshop will also be presented by Dr. David Shepherdson, editor of the ground-breaking book Second Nature: Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals. All of the details will appear at <www.theabma.org>.
An extraordinary joint meeting of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology and four North American societies (Society for the Study of Evolution, American Society of Naturalists, Society of Systematic Biologists, and Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution) will be held in July, 2012, in Ottawa, Canada.
The International Primatological Society’s XXIV Congress, Primatology's Legacy and Future Challenges, will be held August 13–17, 2012 in Veracruz, Mexico. See <www.ips2012.org.mx>.
* * *