More and more animal welfare agencies across the country are beginning to look into the connectivity between the work they do in their communities and the native wildlife that live there. Animal care and control facilities are fielding hundreds of calls yearly each relating to concerns and questions from citizens about native wildlife. Similarly, animal control agencies are becoming increasingly tasked with responding to calls for service in the field relating to wildlife. These increasing trends can leave many agencies in the scramble trying to decide their role in wildlife conservation and conflict mitigation and filling in gaps as they appear.
This webinar will provide measured steps and benefits for animal welfare organizations and field service agencies to begin engaging in wildlife work and transform the way you respond to these types of situations as they arise all while upholding your humane mission. The benefits for taking the time to engage in these systematic changes are innumerable and include- humane outcomes for wildlife in your community, a reduced workload for officers in the field, increased disease tracking and mitigation techniques, and a greater understanding of how to solve problems that arise with native wildlife.
This webinar has been certified by the National Animal Care & Control Association and is approved for 1 Continuing Education Unit. Please refer to your NACA membership portal for current CEU submission process. Current NACA Members who attend the live presentation or watch the recording will be able to download a jointly issued attendance certificate that includes the National Animal Care & Control Association logo. Visit the NACA training page for a complete list of future trainings.
Presenter
Jennifer Toussaint is the Chief of Animal Control in Arlington County, Virginia at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. Jennifer joined the Animal Control team in early 2012 as a Deputy and accepted the Chief position in 2016. Since becoming Chief, Jennifer has implemented a local ordinance in relation to exotic animal care and ownership. She has also expanded the Animal Control Department’s outreach efforts in providing additional support to pet owners to enable high owner-pet retention in the community. She specializes nationally in Humane Urban Wildlife Management practices and has been published multiple times on the topic. Jennifer is a CIT-trained officer and has trained animal control and welfare professionals on a variety of topics including: active listening, emergency preparedness, emotional support and service animals, animal neglect/cruelty investigations, and wildlife intake and triage. She is the Incident Commander for the Community Animal Response Team in Arlington, VA. Jennifer is the 2017 recipient of the Virginia Animal Control Association Dr. Kent Roberts Animal Control Officer of the Year and received a commendation from the Virginia General Assembly for her service. In 2020, Jennifer’s department won the Outstanding Agency of the Year award from the Virginia Animal Control Association. She is a graduate of Moravian College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Spanish. Jennifer shares her home with her rescue dogs Rheagan and Ducky.
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