Feasibility and validity of the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid to monitor the welfare of zoo-housed gorillas Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Zoos need to monitor their animals in order to evaluate to what extent animal welfare policies result in adequate welfare. Since it is usually not feasible for zoos to structurally measure corticosteroid concentrations or conduct extensive behavioural observations, zoos often rely on their caretakers to assess animal welfare using surveys. The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid […]
The Elephant Welfare Initiative: a model for advancing evidence‐based zoo animal welfare monitoring, assessment and enhancement
The Elephant Welfare Initiative (EWI) is an effort supported by a community of member zoos with the common goal of advancing evidence‐based elephant‐care practices that enhance welfare. The idea for the EWI came about following the completion of a large‐scale North American elephant welfare study, which demonstrated that daily practices, such as social management, enrichment […]
A Zoo Animal’s Neighbourhood: How Conspecific Neighbours Impact Welfare
While the zoological community strives to provide the best possible living environment for non-human animals, space limitations constrain where zoos can house particular species. Therefore, an individual may live in proximity to animals that impact its behaviour, physiology, reproductive function or overall welfare status. This article examines how solitary and social species living in managed […]
Repeatability of some animal-related variables in dairy cows and buffaloes
The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra-observer repeatability of some animal-related variables which could be used in welfare-assessment protocols at farm level. Recordings were performed on seven dairy farms (four for cattle and three for buffaloes). The animals were observed on three occasions at three-week intervals. The variables collected for each animal […]
The integration of human-animal relations into animal welfare monitoring schemes
There are increasing local and international pressures for farm animal welfare monitoring schemes. Housing of farm animals is a contentious issue for many, although the impact of the housing system may be overestimated by some. In contrast, the topic of stockmanship has received relatively little attention, even though research has shown that animal carers or […]
Application of the Welfare Quality protocol to dairy buffalo farms: Prevalence and reliability of selected measures
Within the general aim of developing a Welfare Quality system for monitoring dairy buffalo welfare, this study focused on prevalence and interobserver reliability of the animal-related variables to be included in the scheme. As most of the measures were developed for cattle, the study also aimed to verify their prevalence for buffaloes. Thirty animal-based measures […]
Sound at the zoo: Using animal monitoring, sound measurement, and noise reduction in zoo animal management
A clear need for evidence-based animal management in zoos and aquariums has been expressed by industry leaders. Here, we show how individual animal welfare monitoring can be combined with measurement of environmental conditions to inform science-based animal management decisions. Over the last several years, Disney’s Animal Kingdom® has been undergoing significant construction and exhibit renovation, […]