Behavioral ecology of captive species: using behavioral adaptations to assess and enhance welfare of nonhuman zoo animals

Glucocorticoid metabolites in an ex situ nocturnal bird, the tropical screech owl Megascops choliba: effects of sex, activity period and inter-individual variation

Glucocorticoids mediate physiological processes to obtain energy, presenting daily variation in basal levels that may be related to behavioural activity pattern. Identification of plasticity in the secretion of these hormones is essential to understand their effects on physiology and behaviour of wild birds and, therefore, their success in their natural or artificial environment. Serial endocrine evaluations are facilitated by implementing non-invasive methodologies that minimize possible effects of manipulation on the animal's physiological variables. However, non-invasive endocrine-behavioural studies in nocturnal birds, such as owls, are immature. The present work aimed to validate an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to quantify glucocorticoid metabolites (MGC) in Megascops choliba as well as to evaluate differences in their production at the individual, sexual or daily level. We recorded the behaviour of nine owls during three continuous days to establish activity budget under captive conditions and aiming to correlate with daily MGC variation. The EIA proved to be effective in analytical assays and in pharmacological testing with synthetic ACTH, validating this immunoassay for the species. Additionally, individual differences in MGC production were confirmed in relation to the time of day, especially at 1700 and 2100, but not in relation to sex. During night hours, the owls showed greater behavioural activity, positively related to MGC values. Higher MGC concentrations were significantly related to greater expressions of active behaviours, such as maintenance, while lower MGC concentrations were recorded during moments of higher alertness and resting. The results presented show daily MGC variation to be inversed in this nocturnal species. Our findings can aid future theoretical studies of daily rhythm and evaluations of challenging and/or disturbing situations that result in changes in behaviour or hormonal cascades of these changes in ex situ populations of owls.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in U.S. Zoos, Sanctuaries, and Research Facilities: A Survey-Based Comparison of Species-Typical Behaviors

A survey was sent to zoos, research facilities, and sanctuaries which housed chimpanzees. Data collected included information about 1122 chimpanzees’ age, sex, social group-size, rearing history, and enclosure. Respondents were also asked to indicate if certain behaviors had been observed in each chimpanzee over the prior two years. Species- typical behaviors (STBs) were queried, including copulation, tool-use, nest-building, and social grooming. Tool-use was reported present for 94.3% of the sample (n = 982), active social grooming for 85.7% (n = 1121), copulation for 68.3% (n = 863) and nest-building for 58.9% (n = 982). Of the subjects for whom we had data regarding all four STBs (n = 860), 45.6% were reported to engage in all four. Logistic regression analyses using forward Wald criteria were conducted to determine the best model for each STB based on the predictors of age, sex, rearing history, group-size, facility-type, and a sex-by-rearing interaction. The best model for copulation (χ2(6) = 124.62, p < 0.001) included rearing, group-size, facility-type, and the sex-by-rearing interaction. Chimpanzees were more likely to copulate if they were mother-reared, in larger groups, living in research facilities, and, if not mother-reared (NOTMR), more likely to copulate if they were female. The best model for tool-use retained the predictors of age category, facility-type, and sex-by-rearing (χ2(5) = 55.78, p < 0.001). Chimpanzees were more likely to use tools if they were adult, living in research facilities, and if NOTMR, were female. The best model for nest-building included facility-type and rearing (χ2(3) = 205.71, p < 0.001). Chimpanzees were more likely to build nests if they were MR and if they were living in zoos or in sanctuaries. The best model for active social grooming retained the predictors of age, sex, rearing, and type of facility (χ2(6) = 102.15, p < 0.001). Chimpanzees were more likely to engage in active social grooming if they were immature, female, mother-reared, and living in zoos. This research provides a basic behavioral profile for many chimpanzees living under human care in the United States and allows us to determine potential methods for improving the welfare of these and future chimpanzees in this population.

Confronting Back-of-House Traditions: Primates as a Case Study

This review commentary focuses on traditional management practices and facility design with suggested improvements in non-public primate management areas, often called “back-of-house”, (henceforth BOH) in zoos, sanctuaries, and research facilities. Progress has been made toward improving animal quality of life in larger, more naturalistic, and enriched indoor and outdoor display areas. However, the quality of life in BOH areas has improved little in comparison. Basic management, regulatory, structural, and spatial BOH environments are lagging, especially in the developing world, and animals may be confined in less enriching spaces for substantial periods of the 24 h day. We reviewed traditional management policy and practice, as well as newer training, enrichment, and welfare policies and actions, and suggested alternatives for structural environments and spatial environments. The suggestions included using more animal-friendly construction materials and animal–computer interaction, providing greater control of the ambient environment and choice of access to multiple areas by the animals themselves, and designing for optimal animal wellbeing at all times, including when caregivers are no longer present. Case studies focused on primates were included. We concluded by suggesting a new, integrated design model based not upon rote standards and old models but building on empirical foundations while embracing empathy and innovation.

Animal Welfare Assessment in 16 Zoos in South Korea Using the Modified Animal Welfare Assessment Grid

Various assessment tools that have been proposed thus far have disadvantages in that they are complex, time-consuming, non-objective, and not convenient for assessing multiple zoos. This study aimed to develop a simple, objective, and reliable welfare assessment tool, the modified Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG), that can be applied in South Korea, where there is no licensing system for zoos. The AWAG has four main sections: physical, psychological, environmental, and procedural. These four sections include 23 welfare factors like general conditions, behaviors, housing, and restraints, for which each individual or group of animals is given a score. The modified AWAG system was applied by converting the 10-point rating scale of the original AWAG to a 6-point Likert scale. Sixteen zoos in Korea were selected based on the zoos with the most animals. Three inspectors assessed the scores of each animal and then averaged the results. The total data surveyed included 16,065 items. Zoos were largely classified into four grades based on the size of the zoo, animal species, and operating organization. In a relatively short period of 14 days, all the zoos were successfully assessed. Despite the shortened and modified assessment tool, the inter-rater reliability among inspectors was 0.942 with high objectivity. The modified AWAG could identify welfare differences between grades of Korean zoos. There were large differences between zoos in most environmental sections and some zoos were evaluated as having inadequate welfare levels. The modified AWAG showed high usability and objectivity. In addition, it was possible to determine which environmental or procedural sections could potentially help improve physical and psychological scores. The modified AWAG is an objective method that could set the direction for the improvement of zoo welfare in the future.

Nature calls: intelligence and natural foraging style predict poor welfare in captive parrots

Understanding why some species thrive in captivity, while others struggle to adjust, can suggest new ways to improve animal care. Approximately half of all Psittaciformes, a highly threatened order, live in zoos, breeding centres and private homes. Here, some species are prone to behavioural and reproductive problems that raise conservation and ethical concerns. To identify risk factors, we analysed data on hatching rates in breeding centres (115 species, 10 255 pairs) and stereotypic behaviour (SB) in private homes (50 species, 1378 individuals), using phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs). Small captive population sizes predicted low hatch rates, potentially due to genetic bottlenecks, inbreeding and low availability of compatible mates. Species naturally reliant on diets requiring substantial handling were most prone to feather-damaging behaviours (e.g. self-plucking), indicating inadequacies in the composition or presentation of feed (often highly processed). Parrot species with relatively large brains were most prone to oral and whole-body SB: the first empirical evidence that intelligence can confer poor captive welfare. Together, results suggest that more naturalistic diets would improve welfare, and that intelligent psittacines need increased cognitive stimulation. These findings should help improve captive parrot care and inspire further PCM research to understand species differences in responses to captivity.

Sex and Age Differences in Activity Budgets in a Population of Captive African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus)

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is an endangered species that continues to experience population decline. Understanding the behavior of this species is a critical step in the conservation efforts to prevent their extinction. A comprehensive activity budget of this species has yet to be conducted in any captive population, which are critical for the Species Survival Plan (SSP) breeding programs. We performed scan sampling observations on a group of 19 penguins to construct an activity budget. We also investigated the behavioral differences between males and females, as well as between adults and juveniles. Results indicate there are minimal sex differences in time budget allocations, but there are some notable age related differences. Creating and comparing activity budgets between populations are critical for understanding animal welfare in captive settings.

Large Lemurs: Ecological, Demographic and Environmental Risk Factors for Weight Gain in Captivity

Simple Summary

Excessive body mass, i.e., being overweight or obese, is a health concern. Some lemur species are prone to extreme weight gain in captivity, yet for others a healthy body condition is typical. The first aim of our study was to examine possible ecological explanations for these species’ differences in susceptibility to captive weight gain across 13 lemur species. Our second aim was to explore demographic and environmental risk factors across individuals from the four best-sampled species. We found a potential ecological explanation for susceptibility to captive weight gain: being adapted to unpredictable wild food resources. Additionally, we also revealed one environmental and four demographic risk factors, e.g., increasing age and, for males, being housed with only fixed climbing structures. Our results indicate targeted practical ways to help address weight issues in affected animals, e.g., by highlighting at-risk species for whom extra care should be taken when designing diets; and by providing a mixture of flexible and fixed climbing structures within enclosures.

Abstract

Excessive body mass, i.e., being overweight or obese, is a health concern associated with issues such as reduced fertility and lifespan. Some lemur species are prone to extreme weight gain in captivity, yet others are not. To better understand species- and individual-level effects on susceptibility to captive weight gain, we use two complementary methods: phylogenetic comparative methods to examine ecological explanations for susceptibility to weight gain across species, and epidemiological approaches to examine demographic and environment effects within species. Data on body masses and living conditions were collected using a survey, yielding useable data on 675 lemurs representing 13 species from 96 collections worldwide. Data on species-typical wild ecology for comparative analyses came from published literature and climate databases. We uncovered one potential ecological risk factor: species adapted to greater wild food resource unpredictability tended to be more prone to weight gain. Our epidemiological analyses on the four best-sampled species revealed four demographic and one environmental risk factors, e.g., for males, being housed with only fixed climbing structures. We make practical recommendations to help address weight concerns, and describe future research including ways to validate the proxy we used to infer body condition.

The Natural Behavior Debate: Two Conceptions of Animal Welfare

The performance of natural behavior is commonly used as a criterion in the determination of animal welfare. This is still true, despite many authors having demonstrated that it is not a necessary component of welfare - some natural behaviors may decrease welfare, while some unnatural behaviors increase it. Here I analyze why this idea persists, and what effects it may have. I argue that the disagreement underlying this debate on natural behavior is not one about which conditions affect welfare, but a deeper conceptual disagreement about what the state of welfare actually consists of. Those advocating natural behavior typically take a "teleological" view of welfare, in which naturalness is fundamental to welfare, while opponents to the criterion usually take a "subjective" welfare concept, in which welfare consists of the subjective experience of life by the animal. I argue that as natural functioning is neither necessary nor sufficient for understanding welfare, we should move away from the natural behavior criterion to an alternative such as behavioral preferences or enjoyment. This will have effects in the way we understand and measure welfare, and particularly in how we provide for the welfare of animals in a captive setting.

Welfare-aligned Sentience: Enhanced Capacities to Experience, Interact, Anticipate, Choose and Survive

The focus of this opinion is on the key features of sentience in animals which can experience different states of welfare, encapsulated by the new term 'welfare-aligned sentience'. This term is intended to exclude potential forms of sentience that do not enable animals in some taxa to have the subjective experiences which underlie different welfare states. As the scientific understanding of key features of sentience has increased markedly during the last 10 to 15 years, a major purpose here is to provide up-to-date information regarding those features. Eleven interconnected statements about sentience-associated body functions and behaviour are therefore presented and explained briefly. These statements are sequenced to provide progressively more information about key scientifically-supported attributes of welfare-aligned sentience, leading, in their entirety, to a more comprehensive understanding of those attributes. They are as follows: (1) Internal structure-function interactions and integration are the foundations of sentience; (2) animals posess a capacity to respond behaviourally to a range of sensory inputs; (3) the more sophisticated nervous systems can generate subjective experiences, that is, affects; (4) sentience means that animals perceive or experience different affects consciously; (5) within a species, the stage of neurobiological development is significant; (6) during development the onset of cortically-based consciousness is accompanied by cognitively-enhanced capacities to respond behaviourally to unpredictable postnatal environments; (7) sentience includes capacities to communicate with others and to interact with the environment; (8) sentience incorporates experiences of negative and positive affects; (9) negative and positive affective experiences 'matter' to animals for various reasons; (10) acknowledged obstacles inherent in anthropomorphism are largely circumvented by new scientific knowledge, but caution is still required; and (11) there is increasing evidence for sentience among a wider range of invertebrates. The science-based explanations of these statements provide the foundation for a brief definition of 'welfare-aligned sentience', which is offered for consideration. Finally, it is recommended that when assessing key features of sentience the same emphasis should be given to positive and negative affective experiences in the context of their roles in, or potential impacts on, animal welfare.

Feeding Enrichment in a Captive Pack of European Wolves (Canis Lupus Lupus): Assessing the Effects on Welfare and on a Zoo's Recreational, Educational and Conservational Role

Simple Summary

Feeding enrichment is widely used to improve the welfare of zoo animals, but it may also affect zoo visitors’ experience and perception of the animals. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of a naturalistic and a non-naturalistic feeding enrichment program, on both wolf behaviour and visitors’ interest in the exhibit. A questionnaire was administered to visitors with the aim of assessing whether our feeding enrichment programs might affect their perception of captive wolf welfare as well as their attitude towards wolf conservation issues. Our findings suggest that, although wolves seemed to benefit from enrichment, their behavioural responses were highly variable among individuals. Visitors’ interest in the exhibit and perception of captive wolf welfare improved by observing the wolves interacting with food, especially when novel feeding objects were provided. Finally, their attitude towards wolf conservation issues did not change in relation to enrichment, but improved when they observed the wolves performing feeding-related behaviours. These findings may help zoos implement enrichment programs that are effective for enhancing their wolves’ welfare as well as their recreational and educational role.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of two feeding enrichment programs on the behaviour of a captive pack of European wolves (Canis lupus lupus) and their correlation with both zoo visitors’ interest towards the exhibit and their overall perception of the species. Behavioural data (exploration, stereotypies, social interactions, activity/inactivity rates) were collected on four male wolves during four two-week long phases: initial control, hidden food, novel object, final control. Three observation sessions were performed daily: before, during and after feeding. Number of visitors and their permanence in front of the exhibit were recorded. After watching the wolves, visitors were asked to fill out a brief questionnaire in order to investigate their perception of captive wolf welfare, as well as their attitude towards wolf conservation issues. Despite the high inter-individual variability in their behavioural response, all wolves seemed to benefit from feeding enrichment. With regard to visitors, interest in the exhibit increased when enrichment was provided. Visitors’ perception of the level of welfare of wolves improved if they attended a feeding session, especially during the novel object phase. Visitors’ attitude towards wolf conservation issues also improved during feeding sessions, regardless of enrichment provision.

"Feelings and Fitness" Not "Feelings or Fitness"-The Raison d'être of Conservation Welfare, Which Aligns Conservation and Animal Welfare Objectives

Increasingly, human activities, including those aimed at conserving species and ecosystems (conservation activities) influence not only the survival and fitness but also the welfare of wild animals. Animal welfare relates to how an animal is experiencing its life and encompasses both its physical and mental states. While conservation biology and animal welfare science are both multi-disciplinary fields that use scientific methods to address concerns about animals, their focus and objectives sometimes appear to conflict. However, activities impacting detrimentally on the welfare of individual animals also hamper achievement of some conservation goals, and societal acceptance is imperative to the continuation of conservation activities. Thus, the best outcomes for both disciplines will be achieved through collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Despite this recognition, cross-disciplinary information-sharing and collaborative research and practice in conservation are still rare, with the exception of the zoo context. This paper summarizes key points developed by a group of conservation and animal welfare scientists discussing scientific assessment of wild animal welfare and barriers to progress. The dominant theme emerging was the need for a common language to facilitate cross-disciplinary progress in understanding and safeguarding the welfare of animals of wild species. Current conceptions of welfare implicit in conservation science, based mainly on "fitness" (physical states), need to be aligned with contemporary animal welfare science concepts which emphasize the dynamic integration of "fitness" and "feelings" (mental experiences) to holistically understand animals' welfare states. The way in which animal welfare is characterized influences the way it is evaluated and the emphasis put on different features of welfare, as well as, the importance placed on the outcomes of such evaluations and how that information is used, for example in policy development and decision-making. Salient examples from the New Zealand and Australian context are presented to illustrate. To genuinely progress our understanding and evaluation of wild animal welfare and optimize the aims of both scientific disciplines, conservation and animal welfare scientists should work together to evolve and apply a common understanding of welfare. To facilitate this, we propose the formal development of a new discipline, Conservation Welfare, integrating the expertise of scientists from both fields.

Complexities of Using Wild versus Captive Activity Budget Comparisons for Assessing Captive Primate Welfare

Activity budget comparisons between groups or individuals in the wild and those in captivity are commonly used to determine the range of wild-type behaviors that nonhuman animals in captivity perform. These comparisons are conducted with the view that individuals displaying a greater range of wild-type behaviors have enhanced welfare. Such comparisons have a greater appeal when it comes to primates because increased levels of anthropomorphism toward primates lead to welfare concerns. However, the validity of such comparisons has not been assessed. From the reviewed literature, some of the main complexities identified when defining "good welfare" using activity budgets were the ideas of behavioral motivation and adaptation, obstacles when using the wild as a benchmark for good welfare, study methods causing possible variances in behavior, and social and environmental factors. It is proposed that such influencing factors would be controlled for adequately in future studies with the use of multiple indices to measure welfare and methods that infer positive emotional states. It is hoped we can then build evidence of an animal's emotional state and allow welfare to be inferred to a higher degree.

Assessment of Welfare in Zoo Animals: Towards Optimum Quality of Life

Zoos are required to maintain a high standard of animal welfare, and this can be assessed using a combination of resource-based and animal-based indices usually divided into behavioural indicators, physiological indicators and clinical/pathological signs. Modern animal welfare assessments should aim to encompass positive affective states and the indicators that are useful in assessing these are discussed. When developing factors to be scored for each species, there is huge variability in the available information about the natural biology for some zoo species and even less information concerning those animals in captivity. Wild baselines are not always the most accurate indicator of what is right for an animal in captivity, which makes the identification of factors to include within species-specific welfare assessment even more challenging. When planning a welfare strategy for any species, it is important that the full range of their biological requirements and needs are considered, but this can be challenging for some zoo species and it is not possible to define a &ldquo;one size fits all&rdquo; welfare strategy. The different approaches for welfare assessment are reviewed, including the development of the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid which offers an evidence-based tool for continual welfare assessment, using technology where appropriate, to facilitate decision making and lead to improvements in the animals&rsquo; quality of life.

Zoo agent's measure in applying the five freedoms principles for animal welfare

BACKGROUND

Animal welfare should be prioritized not only for the animal's life sustainability but also for supporting the sustainability of living organism's life on the earth. However, Indonesian people have not understood it yet, thereby still treating animals arbitrarily and not appreciating either domesticated or wild animals.

AIM

This research aimed to analyze the zoo agent's action in applying the five freedoms principle for animal welfare in Taman Satwa Taru Jurug (thereafter called TSTJ) or Surakarta Zoo and Gembira Loka Zoo (GLZ) of Yogyakarta Indonesia using Giddens structuration theory.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The informants in this comparative study with explorative were organizers, visitors, and stakeholders of zoos selected using purposive sampling technique. The informants consisted of 19 persons: 8 from TSTJ (Code T) and 10 from GLZ (Code G) and representatives from Natural Resource Conservation Center of Central Java (Code B). Data were collected through observation, in-depth interview, and Focus Group Discussion and Documentation. Data were analyzed using an interactive model of analysis consisting of three components: Data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. Data validation was carried out using method and data source triangulations.

RESULTS

Food, nutrition, and nutrition level have been given consistent with the animals' habit and natural behavior. Animal keepers always maintain their self-cleanliness. GLZ has provided cages according to the technical instruction of constructing ideal cages, but the cages in TSTJ are worrying as they are not consistent with standard, rusty, and damaged, and animals have no partner. Some animals in GLZ are often sick, whereas some animals in TSTJ are dead due to poor maintenance. The iron pillars of cages restrict animal behavior in TSTJ so that they have not had freedom to behave normally yet, whereas, in GLZ, they can move freely in original habitat. The animals in the two zoos have not been free from disruption, stress, and pressure due to the passing over vehicles.

CONCLUSION

There should be strategic communication, information, and education, community development, and law enforcement for the animal welfare.

Behavioral Ecology of Captive Species: Using Bibliographic Information to Assess Pet Suitability of Mammal Species

Which mammal species are suitable to be kept as pet? For answering this question many factors have to be considered. Animals have many adaptations to their natural environment in which they have evolved that may cause adaptation problems and/or risks in captivity. Problems may be visible in behavior, welfare, health, and/or human–animal interaction, resulting, for example, in stereotypies, disease, and fear. A framework is developed in which bibliographic information of mammal species from the wild and captive environment is collected and assessed by three teams of animal scientists. Oneliners from literature about behavioral ecology, health, and welfare and human–animal relationship of 90 mammal species are collected by team 1 in a database and strength of behavioral needs and risks is assessed by team 2. Based on summaries of those strengths the suitability of the mammal species is assessed by team 3. Involvement of stakeholders for supplying bibliographic information and assessments was propagated. Combining the individual and subjective assessments of the scientists using statistical methods makes the final assessment of a rank order of suitability as pet of those species less biased and more objective. The framework is dynamic and produces an initial rank ordered list of the pet suitability of 90 mammal species, methods to add new mammal species to the list or remove animals from the list and a method to incorporate stakeholder assessments. A model is developed that allows for provisional classification of pet suitability. Periodical update of the pet suitability framework is expected to produce an updated list with increased reliability and accuracy. Furthermore, the framework could be further developed to assess the pet suitability of additional species of other animal groups, e.g., birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Updating Animal Welfare Thinking: Moving beyond the "Five Freedoms" towards "A Life Worth Living"

Simple Summary

The Five Freedoms were formulated in the early 1990s and are now well recognised as highly influential in the animal welfare arena. However, a marked increase in scientific understanding over the last two decades now shows that the Five Freedoms do not capture, either in the specifics or the generality of their expression, the breadth and depth of current knowledge of the biological processes that are germane to understanding animal welfare and to guiding its management. For example, this paper refers to some negative experiences that can never be eliminated, merely temporarily neutralised, because they are essential for eliciting behaviours upon which the survival of the animal depends. In addition, it refers to other negative experiences that relate to an animal’s responses to living in poor environments which require improvement, and also to how such experiences may be replaced by positive ones when particular improvements are introduced. For animals to have “lives worth living” it is necessary, overall, to minimise their negative experiences and at the same time to provide the animals with opportunities to have positive experiences. These observations have implications for reviewing and potentially updating minimum standards in codes of welfare. The paper ends with an up-to-date characterisation of the principal features of animal welfare, expressed largely in non-technical terms.

Abstract

The Five Freedoms have had major impact on animal welfare thinking internationally. However, despite clear initial statements that the words ‘freedom from’ should indicate ‘as free as possible from’, the Freedoms have come to be represented as absolute or fundamental freedoms, even rights, by some animal advocate and other groups. Moreover, a marked increase in scientific understanding over the last two decades shows that the Freedoms do not capture the more nuanced knowledge of the biological processes that is germane to understanding animal welfare and which is now available to guide its management. For example, the named negative experiences of thirst, hunger, discomfort and pain, and others identified subsequently, including breathlessness, nausea, dizziness, debility, weakness and sickness, can never be eliminated, merely temporarily neutralised. Each one is a genetically embedded element that motivates animals to behave in particular ways to obtain specific life-sustaining resources, avoid or reduce physical harm or facilitate recovery from infection or injury. Their undoubted negativity creates a necessary sense of urgency to respond, without which animals would not survive. Also, the temporary neutralisation of these survival-critical affects does not in and of itself generate positive experience. This questions the commonly held assumption that good animal welfare will result when these internally generated negative affects are minimised. Animals may also experience other negative affects that include anxiety, fear, panic, frustration, anger, helplessness, loneliness, boredom and depression. These situation-related affects reflect animals’ perceptions of their external circumstances. Although they are elicited by threatening, cramped, barren and/or isolated conditions, they can often be replaced by positive affects when animals are kept with congenial others in spacious, stimulus-rich and safe environments which provide opportunities for them to engage in behaviours they find rewarding. These behaviours may include environment-focused exploration and food acquisition activities as well as animal-to-animal interactive activities, all of which can generate various forms of comfort, pleasure, interest, confidence and a sense of control. Animal welfare management should aim to reduce the intensity of survival-critical negative affects to tolerable levels that nevertheless still elicit the required behaviours, and should also provide opportunities for animals to behave in ways they find rewarding, noting that poor management of survival-critical affects reduces animals’ motivation to utilize such rewarding opportunities. This biologically more accurate understanding provides support for reviewing the adequacy of provisions in current codes of welfare or practice in order to ensure that animals are given greater opportunities to experience positive welfare states. The purpose is to help animals to have lives worth living, which is not possible when the predominant focus of such codes is on survival-critical measures. Finally, an updated characterisation of animal welfare that incorporates this more accurate understanding is presented.

Impacts of visitor number on Kangaroos housed in free-range exhibits

Free range exhibits are becoming increasingly popular in zoos as a means to enhance interaction between visitors and animals. However very little research exists on the impacts of visitors on animal behaviour and stress in free range exhibits. We investigated the effects of visitor number on the behaviour and stress physiology of Kangaroo Island (KI) Kangaroos, Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus, and Red Kangaroos, Macropus rufus, housed in two free range exhibits in Australian zoos. Behavioural observations were conducted on individual kangaroos at each site using instantaneous scan sampling to record activity (e.g., vigilance, foraging, resting) and distance from the visitor pathway. Individually identifiable faecal samples were collected at the end of each study day and analysed for faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentration. When visitor number increased, both KI Kangaroos and Red Kangaroos increased the time spent engaged in visitor-directed vigilance and KI Kangaroos also increased the time spent engaged in locomotion and decreased the time spent resting. There was no effect of visitor number on the distance kangaroos positioned themselves from the visitor pathway or FGM concentration in either species. While there are limitations in interpreting these results in terms of fear of visitors, there was no evidence of adverse effects animal welfare in these study groups based on avoidance behaviour or stress physiology under the range of visitor numbers that we studied.

Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management

Simple Summary

Living in a stable social environment is important to animals. Animal species have developed social behaviors and rules of approach and avoidance of conspecifics in order to co-exist. Animal species are kept or domesticated without explicit regard for their inherent social behavior and rules. Examples of social structures are provided for four species kept and managed by humans. This information is important for the welfare management of these species. In the near future, automatic measurement of social structures will provide a tool for daily welfare management together with nearest neighbor information.

Abstract

It may become advantageous to keep human-managed animals in the social network groups to which they have adapted. Data concerning the social networks of farm animal species and their ancestors are scarce but essential to establishing the importance of a natural social network for farmed animal species. Social Network Analysis (SNA) facilitates the characterization of social networking at group, subgroup and individual levels. SNA is currently used for modeling the social behavior and management of wild animals and social welfare of zoo animals. It has been recognized for use with farm animals but has yet to be applied for management purposes. Currently, the main focus is on cattle, because in large groups (poultry), recording of individuals is expensive and the existence of social networks is uncertain due to on-farm restrictions. However, in many cases, a stable social network might be important to individual animal fitness, survival and welfare. For instance, when laying hens are not too densely housed, simple networks may be established. We describe here small social networks in horses, brown bears, laying hens and veal calves to illustrate the importance of measuring social networks among animals managed by humans. Emphasis is placed on the automatic measurement of identity, location, nearest neighbors and nearest neighbor distance for management purposes. It is concluded that social networks are important to the welfare of human-managed animal species and that welfare management based on automatic recordings will become available in the near future.