NTU Course Leader and Lecturer collaborate with Wild Welfare to publish new article assessing zoo animal welfare
School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences BSc (Hons) Zoo Biology Course Leader, Dr Samantha Ward and Lecturer Dr Ellen Williams, collaborated with UK zoo welfare charity “Wild Welfare” to publish new open access journal article assessing zoo animal welfare in developing country zoos.
“Zoo animal welfare is a high priority for many institutions with modern zoos ensuring that animals are housed and managed at high standards. However, animal welfare standards for developing country zoos may not be as high, as the most up-to-date knowledge may not be available or understood”, Dr Samantha Ward told us.
“The aim of the research was to investigate if there were common welfare concerns associated with zoo animal provision across different developing country zoos”, Sam went on to say.
“We collected data at 11 zoos in seven developing countries including Brazil, Egypt, Libya, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.”
“The results suggest that animal behaviour, animals’ positive mental states and human health and safety were areas that needed support”, Sam concluded.
This research has helped to inform future intervention strategies for improving developing country zoo animal welfare, something that is becoming increasingly more important over time.
The article is available in Open Access here - https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/2101.