FAQs

Zoopharmacognosy is the study of animals’ self-medicative behaviour – their ability to seek out the natural plants, minerals and compounds that improve their physical and psychological well-being.

,Animal enrichment is the process of understanding and providing the right natural stimuli at the right time to enhance the physical and emotional wellbeing of animals, so that their quality of life is improved.

,Self-selection is the ability of animals to instinctively choose the plant materials and derivatives that their bodies and minds need to assure their balance, health and wellbeing. Animals are hard wired to keep themselves in a maximum state of wellness and require access to elements found in their natural habitats in order to achieve this.

There is no such thing as “one size fits all” when seeking to support any individual. All animals have slightly different histories, circumstances, physiology and psychology, which affects their individual needs. By enabling an animal to self-medicate, they can choose to address their own challenges, which might be different to another animal who appears very similar.

We provide a wide range of organic plant materials and derivatives, essential oils and natural substances to animals, depending on their individual specific requirements and what they would have sought in their natural habitats.

Practising applied zoopharmacognosy takes however long the animal takes to be ready to make their selection. It is not a matter of applying something curative for a known ailment; there is no ‘quick fix’, we take guidance from the individual in terms of the time time we spend offering remedies. Ours is an individualised and holistic approach which is paced according to the animals’ needs and responses to what they are being offered.

If you can’t donate money, there are a number of ways to support CAEP. We need volunteers to contribute to the organisation by offering their unique professional skills and becoming part of our community. We are a small organisation that believes that the most valuable non-monetary contribution is expertise. We need volunteers with fundraising ideas, marketing experience, accounting and proven ways to execute these strategies. 

Monetary donations can be made to CAEP in the following ways:

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) to:

Account name:  The Captive Animal Enrichment Project NPC

Bank name:  Nedbank South Africa

Branch code:  198765

Swift code:  NEDSZAJJ

Account type:  Current account

Reference:  Your name

Please email your proof of payment, including the email address we can send a ‘thank you’ to, to info@captiveanimalenrichment.org

PayPal – please click on the ‘donate’ button at the top of the screen.

CAEP operates in Cape Town, South Africa.

Email: info@captiveanimalenrichment.org

Social Media: 

• X – @animalenrich
• LinkedIn – Captive Animal Enrichment Project 
• Facebook – Captive Animal Enrichment Project
• Instagram – @captiveanimalenrichmentproject