Zoo animal welfare into the 21st century: Conclusions and future considerations for welfare-focused husbandry

Forty years after the definition was first published, animal welfare is still the state of the individual as they attempt to cope with their environment. We now have more information on what these states are (behavioural, psychological, physical) as well as how an individual's internal (e.g. hormones, homeostasis, thoughts and emotions) and external (e.g. resources, climate, presence of humans) environments influence the chances of coping with, and successfully responding to, particular stimuli of importance. We also know to consider affective state, biological functioning, and naturalness in our welfare concept – and this is particularly important to the zoo when we manage animal populations to meet specific aims (“keeping wildlife wild” goes hand-in-hand with understanding – and providing for – the wants, needs, and physical and psychological health of the species that underpin a zoo's conservation, research, education, and engagement aims). This book quite rightly discusses the social licence that a zoo has to operate – a prickly issue that will continue to grow more thorns in the future as acceptable standards of welfare rise and tolerance for welfare compromises lowers. Being transparent with animal management practices that are essential for population sustainability and conservation viability is essential, as such practices may be misunderstood or misconstrued by those outside of zoo operations, and this can lead to mistrust, incorrect assumptions being made, and emotional arguments being presented as fact.