How to tell the good from the bad: 5 practical welfare indicators of zoo animal welfare
- Team AWE
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Walking around a zoo can be a joyful, fascinating experience. But it can also raise an important question: how do you know if the animals you’re seeing are happy? Are they thriving, or simply coping with their environment?
Animal welfare is complex. It unfolds over time, behind the scenes as much as in public view, and to assess it thoroughly, a comprehensive welfare assessment needs to be applied over many days. But the encouraging news is this: even as a visitor, you can learn to spot meaningful signs of good (or poor) welfare.
Here are five practical indicators to guide your next visit.
1. Space that PRIORITISES QUALITY AS WELL AS QUANTITY
On the one hand, we often hear that “bigger is better” when it comes to animal enclosures, and on the other, that size is overblown and there are much more important measures of welfare. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The space accessible for zoo animals should be large and meaningful.
Look for habitats that:
Use vertical as well as horizontal space (climbing structures, perches, water depth)
Offer variety—different substrates, vegetation, shelter, and vantage points
Reflect the natural ecology of the species (arboreal animals up high, burrowers with digging opportunities, etc.). Sounds obvious, but it's not always the case.
In our 2025 Cetacean Welfare (C-Well) results study, we found that larger space per cetacean did correlate with better overall welfare scores. But during the assessment we also scored pools on whether the space was complex, variable and usable.
A potential red flag? Animals housed in enclosures clearly designed for a different species—something that can happen when animals are moved around within a zoo. If the space doesn’t “fit” the animal, it’s unlikely to fully meet their needs.
2. Movement with purpose
One of the most powerful things you can observe is how animals move.
Animals in positive welfare states tend to show what we call intentional movement:
Exploring their environment
Playing
Investigating objects or scents
Foraging
Socialising with others
These movements have a clear purpose.
In contrast, watch out for:
Pacing back and forth along the same route
Repetitive, unchanging patterns (route-tracing)
Long periods of alert but inactive behaviour (sometimes called 'wakeful inactivity')
Other Abnormal Repetitive Behaviours (ARBs)
These can indicate frustration, boredom, or stress.
The key question to ask yourself is simple: does this animal look like it has something meaningful to do?
3. Healthy bodies and coats
You don’t need to be an expert to notice basic signs of physical condition.
Across species, try to gauge:
Does the animal look overweight or underweight?
Are they moving smoothly, or showing signs of lameness or stiffness?
Is their coat, skin, or feathers clean, full, and intact?
Are there visible wounds, sores, or patchy areas?
Of course, nature isn’t always pristine, and wild animals can look sub-optimal at times, especially during breeding seasons or harsh conditions. But zoo animals, with consistent access to food and veterinary care, should generally appear robust, comfortable, and not in pain.
4. Evidence of enrichment
A good zoo doesn’t just house animals: it actively engages them, and enrichment is one of the best tools to do this.
Enrichment refers to items or activities designed to encourage natural behaviours like:
Foraging and problem-solving
Physical activity
Exploration and curiosity
As you walk around a zoo, look for:
Puzzle feeders or hidden food
Objects animals can manipulate or investigate
Natural materials like logs, ropes, or substrates
Interactive devices (e.g. buttons, scent dispensers)
Just as importantly, look for change over time:
Are there signs that enrichment is being added, removed, or rotated?
Do different enclosures show different setups?
In well-managed zoos, the vast majority of animals receive enrichment daily. If everything looks static and unchanging, that’s worth noting.
5. Your instinct matters more than you think
This might be the most overlooked—but also one of the most powerful—tools you have.
Research shows that visitors and untrained observers can often make surprisingly accurate judgments about animal welfare based on overall impressions. This idea is formalised in a method called Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA).
Watch the animals for a few minutes and ask yourself:
Do the animals seem engaged with their environment?
Do they appear relaxed, curious, playful, or content?
Or do they seem withdrawn, frustrated, or disconnected?
If you leave an enclosure with a feeling that something isn’t right, it’s worth paying attention to that instinct. And equally, when you see animals:
Playing together
Exploring actively
Resting peacefully
Foraging or interacting with enrichment
…those are all positive signals that welfare may be good.
A final thought: one visit is just a snapshot
As always with welfare, it's never as simple as one time point, and it’s important to recognise the limits of what you can see, as well as videos you might see on social media.
Welfare changes over time, across seasons, and behind the scenes. A single visit won’t give you the full picture, and the most comprehensive assessments always include off-show areas, staff practices, and long-term monitoring.
But that doesn’t mean your observations aren’t valuable. By paying attention to space, behaviour, health, enrichment, and your own instincts, you can form informed, meaningful impressions. Over time, these can help you decide:
Which zoos you trust
Which ones you want to support
And which ones you might choose not to revisit
Because ultimately, informed visitors can play a powerful role in shaping better welfare, and thankfully we're seeing zoos start to recognise this.
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