Abnormal swimming is associated with inner ear damage and improves with meclizine treatment and increased habitat complexity: A case study in Urobatis jamaicensis
At the Seas with Nemo and Friends® exhibit (Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA), a yellow stingray Urobatis jamaicensis was diagnosed with a Mycobacterium chelonae infection of the inner ear. The animal was moved to an isolated environment for treatment. One element of therapy included meclizine which was administered in an attempt to reduce the occurrence […]
Crucial but Neglected: Limited Availability of Animal Welfare Courses in Education of Wildlife Researchers
Animal welfare is a subject of increasing scientific and ethical concern in today’s society, crucial for the well-being of animals used in research and the integrity of scientific data. Equipping researchers in the life science disciplines with a science-based knowledge of animal welfare, behaviour, physiology, and health is, therefore, essential. Nevertheless, previous studies evaluating animal […]
The effect of anthropogenic noise on foraging and vigilance in zoo housed pied tamarins
The phenomenon of human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC) is a great challenge in the modern world that presents a threat to all species. Research on the effect of anthropogenic noise on free-living wildlife is increasing but the effect of anthropogenic noise on the behaviour and welfare of captive wildlife has received limited attention, even though […]
A comprehensive investigation of negative visitor behaviour in the zoo setting and captive animals’ behavioural response
Negative visitor behaviour in zoos such as banging, shouting and feeding animals are unwanted, but under-studied, visitor actions. It is not known how prevalent negative behaviour is, which species or enclosure type receives the most negative behaviour or how these behaviours affect zoo-housed animals. In this study, a comprehensive assessment of negative visitor behaviour, using […]
Welfare impacts associated with using aversive geofencing devices on captive Asian elephants
Animal-borne aversive geofencing devices (AGDs, or satellite-linked shock collars) are commercially available and used on livestock to restrict their movement within a virtual boundary. This technology has potential application as a human-wildlife conflict mitigation tool, where problem animals might be conditioned to avoid human-dominated habitats by associating an audio warning with a subsequent electric shock, […]
The Integrated Effect of Environmental Conditions and Human Presence on the Behaviour of a Pair of Zoo-Housed Asian Small-Clawed Otters
Zoos and aquaria have the ethical responsibility to provide animals under their care with conditions that promote good welfare. This study evaluated the combined influence of human presence and environmental factors on the behaviour of zoo-housed Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus). Data collection was conducted on a pair hosted at Pistoia Zoo (Italy). Data were […]
Zoo Animal Welfare Assessment: Where Do We Stand?
Zoological institutions, such as zoos and aquariums, have made animal welfare a top priority, as it is not only a moral obligation but also crucial for fulfilling their roles in education and conservation. There is a need for science-based tools to assess and monitor animal welfare in these settings. However, assessing the welfare of zoo […]
Zoo visitor effect on mammal behaviour: Does noise matter?
The zoo visitor effect is the change in animal behaviour and physiology in response to the presence of a viewing public. It is thought to result from, amongst other things, visitor generated sound (i.e., noise), but this hypothesis has never been explicitly tested. We tested this hypothesis through observations on the behaviour and enclosure use […]
Genetic and environmental parameters for behavioural responses towards humans in farmed ostriches
This study investigated the effect of human-ostrich interactions at an early age on behavioural responses towards humans later in life, as well as computed genetic parameters for behavioural responses towards humans. Responses recorded were a willingness to approach a human handler, allowing touch interactions with the handler, keeping a distance from the handler, wing flapping […]
Visitor effects on zoo-housed Sulawesi crested macaque (Macaca nigra) behaviour: Can signs with ‘watching eyes’ requesting quietness help?
Visiting public can cause changes in the behaviour of zoo-housed primates. These effects, if indicative of stress, can be of welfare concern. However, few options to mitigate visitor effects through modulating visitor behaviour have been explored. Here we evaluated the effects of visitor number and visitor noise level on the behaviour of five UK groups […]