This new item from Science@CornellVet is about: Previously, we discussed the importance of animal training in zoos to the care of animals in captivity. Over the past 30 years, zoo veterinarians have utilized behavioral conditioning to better care for animals in captivity. By using positive reinforcement training to cue desirable behaviors from captive wildlife, preventative medicine tasks become much simpler, safer, and less stressful for the animal – often avoiding or minimizing restraint and sedation, and thus allowing more frequent examination, preventative medicine, and earlier detection of disease.