welfare in Zoos Flashcards
What are the 4 roles of a zoo
Conservation
Education
Research
Recreation
Why is welfare so important
So animals must be fit for breeding and possibly reintroduction
What can poor welfare lead to
- stress
- suppression of immune function
- decrease in reproductive success
Why is good welfare important when we educate
Animals exhibiting natural behaviours will help to educate the public about their natural habitats
Why is good welfare important when we do recreation
Visitors will have a better experience and more likely to return. If they see high standards of zoo animal welfare it helps boost reputation of the zoo
How is welfare measured and give an example
1 - subjective vs objective
Example - assessment of an animal that looks stressed vs measuring stress hormones in faecal samples
2- Qualitative vs Quantitative
Example - Guessing how much time is spent performing a behaviour vs carrying out an activity budget ethogram
Which measurements of welfare are most reliable
Objective and Quantitative
How is behaviour asses in regard to welfare
Comparing one animal to another animal of the same species
Ethograms
Activity budget
What is an ethogram
A cataloguing technique used by researchers to describe how animals behave
What is an activity budget
The proportion of time an animals spends exhibiting each recorded behaviour. Once the behaviour is recorded they can be compared against other animals for the species int he wild or in captivity