Achieving a balance: Animal welfare and conservation

Date:  January 31, 2019

Source:  San Diego Zoo Global

In a paper recently published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science, a team of researchers, animal care experts and veterinarians evaluate the balance between animal welfare and conservation needs for a number of rare species of native birds being raised in San Diego Zoo Global breeding centers in Hawaii. The paper shares the challenges and complexity of situations where the needs of an individual and the needs of a species are weighed, and how that balance is achieved.

"Animal welfare and conservation breeding have overlapping and compatible goals, but promoting optimal welfare in breeding programs can require tactics that minimize the effects of captivity," said Alison Greggor, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate at San Diego Zoo Global in the 'alalā recovery program, which prepares these endangered birds for eventual release into wild habitats. "We offer a perspective on how SDZG's Hawaiian Endangered Bird Conservation Program strives for high welfare standards while balancing the needs for birds to learn skills for the future."

The paper describes a scientific attempt to measure animal welfare standards using guidelines provided through an "Opportunity to Thrive" model, as they are balanced by the need to prepare individuals for naturally occurring stresses.

Read more