The Welfare of Exhibited Wildlife : Applying Wildlife Medicine to Health Management as a Tool for Attracting Visitors

Abstract

During a visit to a zoo, a visitor's impression of the quality of life of the animals may include concerns about stress and confined conditions. Since most wildlife exhibited is bred in captivity, it should be considered whether it is true that these zoo animals have endured stress in familiar surroundings where they were born and raised. It should also be considered if these animals are under stress if they are only exposed to a monotonous life without stimulation and proper nutritional management or are afflicted with preventable diseases. Animal welfare is often an emotionally discussed issue, but the Japanese Society of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine aims to scientifically evaluate this issue, irrespective of its anthropocentric emotional value. Zoos make significant efforts to improve the captive environment for animals by applying environmental enrichment as a tool for keeping animals physically and mentally healthy. In addition, preventive medicine and veterinary health care applied to wildlife medicine might be questioned from the viewpoint of animal protection or rights, but is performed for health management. For example, although vaccination, physical examination under anaesthesia and surgical operations can be stressors for an animal in the short term, these measures undoubtedly increase longevity and contribute to the conservation of endangered species. Furthermore, the scientific data obtained from captive individuals can be used for the conservation of the wild population. It is also necessary for zoo staff to refine euthanasia techniques of the animal that cannot maintain good quality of life. Moreover, zoos can provide a valuable educational experience for the purpose of understanding animal welfare through hands-on experience with domestic and companion animals and the release of information about, for example, an animal's death and the cause. Zoos should keep animals in a manner that accommodates their natural behaviour and ecology, and therefore impress the visitor by exhibiting animals in their natural life, birth and death. Animal welfare developed for each individual animal contributes to wildlife welfare, and consequently, natural environmental conservation. To this end, it is necessary to assess an animal's welfare scientifically and develop appropriate criteria for evaluating the success of environmental enrichment.