Expanding the role of the future zoo: Wellbeing should become the fifth aim for modern zoos

Abstract

Zoos and aquariums have an enormous global reach and hence an ability to craft meaningful conservation action for threatened species, implement educational strategies to encourage human engagement, development and behavior change, and conduct scientific research to enhance the husbandry, roles and impacts of the living collection. The recreational role of the zoo is also vast- people enjoy visiting the zoo and this is often a shared experience amongst family and friends. Evaluating how the zoo influences this "captive audience" and extending its reach to include a compassionate approach to animals and people can further enhance the mission, value, and relevance of their work. The modern zoo's current aims-Conservation, Education, Research and Recreation-provide useful foundations for the activities that zoos conduct at a local and national level. However, to improve sustainability of their actions and outcomes, we feel that Wellbeing should become the fifth aim of the modern zoo for the future- both from an animal perspective (ensuring that populations are managed according to prevailing behavioral needs) and from a human perspective (enhancing access to nature, promoting planetary friendly behavior changes and ways of living, and advancing the wellbeing of the zoo's workforce). This paper provides discussion and review of how Wellbeing is already a substantial part of what zoos work on as well as posing the idea of altering the Recreation aim of the zoo to one of Engagement, which potentially is more measurable and therefore can allow zoo researchers and managers further options for the collection of evidence on the local and global reach of their zoo's aims. Education, Engagement, Conservation, Research and Wellbeing provide a more complete picture of the roles of the modern zoo for the animals (both in situ and ex situ), human visitors and workforce, and to society more widely.

Keywords: connection with nature; conservation; engagement; one health; one welfare; wellbeing; zoo aims.

Figure 1

Wellbeing as a key aim of the modern zoo defined from the animal (brown boxes) and human (blue boxes) perspective. Animal welfare is embedded in all areas of the zoo’s operations pertaining to its living collection. Top left boxes: A biologically relevant social group and an enclosure that promotes adaptive behaviors enhances the chance of attaining positive welfare states. Bottom left boxes: Sharing a connection with nature and feeling connected to nature (that is enhanced when animals in the zoo look and act naturally) promotes positive human wellbeing. Top right boxes: Husbandry activities, such as use of enrichment or browse feeding to bring giraffes closer to visitors, is an ecologically relevant form of species care and increases the outward display of natural behaviors that further engage visitors. Bottom right boxes: A direct connection with nature occurs by sharing an experience of animal behavior at the zoo provides a lasting impact on the importance and value of biodiversity- one that can be used to impart ideas for human behavior change.

Figure 2

When visitors view abnormal repetitive behaviors, the key messages of the zoo as a place of education, science and conservation can be diluted. The Wellbeing aim of the zoo cannot be promoted if unnatural behavior patterns go unchecked. When animals have the opportunity to perform adaptive and highly motivated behaviors, it is clear to visitors that animal welfare is at the heart of the zoo’s mission and the other associated goals of the zoo are enhanced by the performance of animals being naturally. Examples of poorer giraffe welfare (vacuum chewing and licking against enclosure furnishings) compared to positive giraffe welfare (browse is provided regularly as a portion of the animal’s daily dietary intake).

Figure 3

The benefits to humans and animals from including Wellbeing as the fifth aim of the modern zoo and aquarium. Suggested outputs that define the Engagement, Research, Education and Conservation aims of the zoo are placed alongside the wider potential impacts of the zoo when these all stem from a Wellbeing starting point.