[IATCB] News and updates for June 2022

Certificant Highlight

Katie Fallon is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia (ACCA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving the region’s wild birds through research, education, and rehabilitation. Founded in 2012, the ACCA admits more than 500 injured or displaced wild birds each year and conducts educational presentations with thirteen non-releasable raptors and corvids.

The ACCA is somewhat unique in that we were founded with the goal of only using positive reinforcement and least-intrusive, minimally aversive training techniques with our ambassador birds. For about ten years prior to founding the ACCA, Katie worked with another center, using “traditional” manning and coercive methods; she’s glad she was able (along with several dedicated and supportive friends and family members) to start a new organization with fresh goals and ideas at the outset. Prior to working with raptors (back in the 1990s!), Katie worked with a variety of psittacine species; she helped hand-raise macaws, African grey parrots, cockatoos, and more, and she gave presentations at schools and community events with parrots and reptiles.

Katie is also an author; she wrote the books Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird (2017) and Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird (2011). She writes the column WINGBEATS for Bird Watchers Digest (now BWD). Her family co-owns a 24-hour, full-service veterinary clinic in Cheat Lake, WV, where she lives with her husband and their three daughters.

Katie considered taking the CPBT-KA exam for several years, and finally worked up the courage in 2021. She’s very glad she did. Anyone considering taking the exam should definitely read the recommended texts and spend some time studying beforehand. Reviewing the material with another bird trainer before taking the test proved to be very helpful for Katie. Through studying for the exam, she learned new concepts in addition to reviewing known information—and she realized that even though she’s been a bird nerd for decades, she still has quite a lot to learn!

We would love to highlight you or your facility in our newsletter and on our Facebook page. Congratulations to our 22 new Certified Professional Trainers from the most recent round of testing! We want to see what you have been up to so please share your successes and let us know the amazing things that you are doing to help raise the bar! Send us a photo and a brief description of what you have been trying. Contact Kelly Garrison at kelly.garrison@accgov.com or Amy Robinson at beanelib@yahoo.com for more information.

2022 Testing Dates

Mark your calendars, the next application deadline is September 14, 2022. Our testing company, PTC has partnered with Prometric for Computer-Based Testing. Learn More here. With Prometrics there are no additional International Testing fees!!

Are you a Hopeful Certificant?

Looking for the study guide for the CPAT- KA exam? Click here

Looking for the study guide for the CPBT- KA exam? Click here

Already certified?

The CPBT-KA and CPAT-KA credential is valid for 5 years from the date it is awarded. To renew the credential a certificant must either re-take the examination after 5 years or accumulate sixty Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) by attending IATCB approved workshops, seminars, classes, or conferences. Head over to here to check out a list of approved CEUs!

Please note that all CEUs MUST be claimed with two (2) months of the event, submissions will not be accepted after this period!

Trainers Talk

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Subtype H5N1 Detected in United States and Canada

Updated January 25, 2022 from ZAPH

On January 14, 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the highly pathogenic Eurasian H5 avian influenza (HPAI) in a wild American wigeon in Colleton County, South Carolina. You can read the entire statement from USDA APHIS about the detection of HPAI in the United States here.   Read More….

Rats trained to find earthquake survivors buried under rubble in bid to save lives

Research scientist Dr Donna Kean, 33, from Glasgow, has been training rats in Tanzania, East Africa. She said the animals can get into small spaces and are 'perfect for search and rescue-type work'

Rats with tiny backpacks are being trained to find earthquake survivors buried under rubble.

The rodents can carry microphones, location trackers and video equipment.

Research scientist Dr Donna Kean, 33, from Glasgow, has been training the animals in Tanzania, East Africa.

She said: “Rats would be able to get into small spaces to get to victims buried in rubble.

“We have the potential to speak to victims through the rat.”

The rodents are also trained to respond to a ‘beep’, which calls them back to their base.

Donna added: “They are so agile, they are so good at moving through all kinds of different environments.

Click here to read more:  Rats trained to find earthquake survivors buried under rubble in bid to save lives - World News - Mirror Online

The International Avian Trainers Certification Board and the International Animal Trainers Certification Board, IATCB, offers you a way to gain professional credibility, increase your earnings potential, and advance your career. We live in a competitive world, and animal trainers are no different than anyone else looking for advanced knowledge and skill in their profession. IATCB endorses voluntary certification by examination for all professionals involved with animals, including trainers, educators, handlers, veterinarians, and all others involved in the care and handling of animals.