Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine Current Therapy, Volume 10 - Chapter 39: Concepts of Animal Welfare in Natural Habitats and in Zoos: Meaning and Anxiety

While there is ample concern about the welfare of animals kept in zoos, the fact that living in natural habitats exposes animals to constant threats is rarely emphasized. On the contrary, the fact that zoos—advocates of animal welfare—promote conservation, often without stating an explicit reason, gives rise to the notion that “the wild” is the optimal habitat for animals. By allowing this impression, zoos detract from the concept that welfare, most likely, is highest when leading a meaningful life (with the opportunity to make choices that matter) in an anxiety-free environment (where wrong choices do not have fatal consequences)—a condition that is often not achieved in “natural” but in “settings under human care,” by good husbandry. Clearly separating the value of, and reasons for, conservation from animal welfare may lead to a higher esteem of life in good zoos.