Is Animal Welfare an Internationally Understood Concept in the Zoo World? Thematic Analysis of Two Regional Groups of Zoo Staff

Heather Bacon*, Belinda Vigors*, Darren J. Shaw*, Natalie Waran, Cathy M. Dwyer, Catriona Bell

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)
85 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Universal frameworks for zoo animal welfare have been suggested. However, there is little evidence of a cross-cultural understanding of zoo animal welfare. This paper reports themes emerging from a qualitative study of international (European and Chinese) zoo professionals on zoo animal welfare issues. Structured telephone interviews were conducted with eight Chinese and eight European zoo staff, covering aspects of zoological animal welfare, conservation and zoological husbandry practices. These qualitative data were thematically analysed, and key themes generated. This paper describes three themes relating to ‘What is animal welfare’ ‘Animal welfare frameworks’ and ‘The human element in animal welfare’. This analysis indicates that the concept of animal welfare has cultural equivalence across Europe and between Europe and China, and that zoo staff are familiar with welfare frameworks. In China, a need for senior leadership and motivating staff to improve animal welfare emerged.
Original languageEnglish
Article number2059
JournalAnimals
Volume11
Issue number7
Early online date10 Jul 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPrint publication - 10 Jul 2021

Keywords

  • China
  • Education
  • Europe
  • Welfare
  • Zoo

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