After completing his Ph.D in Zoology at the University of Oxford in 2002, focusing on the welfare of farmed chickens, Dr. Joseph Barber began postdoctoral at the University of Central Florida based at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, helping to develop applied and programmatic research tools to assess the behavior and welfare of the entire animal collection.
In 2004, Dr. Barber became an independent consultant, working with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to facilitate the development of Animal Care Manuals for all bird and mammal species housed in US zoos and aquariums, and continues to serve as an advisor to the AZA’s Animal Welfare Committee.
At Acadia University in Philadelphia, Barber taught undergraduate courses in ‘Animal Behavior’, focusing on commonalities between species, and how these principles can be used to understand human behavior and culture.
Currently, Dr. Barber teaches “Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare” at Hunter College (CUNY) as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, serves as a co-editor for the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (JAAWS), and works part-time as an advisor for graduate students and postdocs at the University of Pennsylvania in an administrative role.
He is the General Editor of The Chicken: A Natural History, that is for sale now.