Development of Welfare Assessment Protocols for Animals in Zoological Institutions in Denmark

Animal welfare has long been a priority for modern zoological institutions. In addition, recent accreditation requirements set forth by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (the WAZA 2023 Animal Welfare Goal), as well as by regional associations (e.g., the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria; EAZA), require that institutions must begin to systematically monitor and register the welfare of all animals in their collections.

These welfare assessments must be underpinned by evidence-based welfare assessment protocols. The protocols should furthermore be developed in line with recognized frameworks for understanding animal welfare and must be species-specific.

However, owing to the large number of different species in zoos and aquaria, with few or no welfare indicators already in place, generic (i.e., non-species-specific) protocols will in many cases be utilized to accommodate the requirements in a timely manner. These generic protocols can then be adapted to individual species when novel knowledge and species-specific protocols become available.

The first phase of this project focused on the development of a generic and flexible “base” protocol, which can be adapted and hence applied across Danish institutions and to a range of species. The protocol is based on the universally accepted welfare framework ‘The 2020 Five Domains Model’ and is developed through existing welfare assessment schemes in zoos and aquaria, as well as based on consultation, feedback, and pilot-testing in Danish institutions, by the members of the Danish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (DAZA) Welfare Working Group. This generic base protocol will continuously be adapted to specific species and tested for reliability, feasibility, and validity, as part of this ongoing project.