Visitor reaction to pacing behavior: influence on the perception of animal care and interest in supporting zoological institutions
Abstract
Many publications within the field of zoo animal welfare have stated the importance of decreasing stereotypic behavior (e.g., pacing) to help ensure a positive visitor experience. The idea behind these statements is that visitors want to see animals engaged in natural behavior. Additionally, it is thought that watching an animal exhibit species-appropriate behavior could help increase a visitor's connection to wildlife and ultimately their interest in conservation. However, until recently, no information was available to validate such statements. The purpose of this research was to examine people's reaction to viewing an animal engaged in pacing behavior. Participants were randomly selected to fill out a survey after watching a short video of either a tiger pacing or resting (control). Results indicate that having viewed a tiger pacing significantly decreases people's perception of the level of care animals receive at that facility. In addition, people's interest in supporting zoos decreased as a result of viewing this behavior. Results are discussed from an animal welfare, business, and conservation perspective.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Stereotypies in zoo animals are the most studied behavioural indicator of poor welfare.
“Stereotypies in zoo animals are the most studied behavioural indicator of poor welfare, perhaps because they tend to receive a lot of attention particularly in zoos as they can be relatively well recognized by the public [42].”
From The visitor effect on zoo animals: implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare (2019) · cites this paper as [42]
Research has shown that visitors care about animal welfare.
“Research has shown visitors care about animal welfare [42], and any signs of suffering or welfare compromise in zoo-housed animals can counter-balance a zoo’s contribution to conservation.”
From The visitor effect on zoo animals: implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare (2019) · cites this paper as [42]
Signs of suffering or welfare compromise in zoo-housed animals can counter-balance a zoo's contribution to conservation.
“Research has shown visitors care about animal welfare [42], and any signs of suffering or welfare compromise in zoo-housed animals can counter-balance a zoo’s contribution to conservation.”
From The visitor effect on zoo animals: implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare (2019) · cites this paper as [42]
Cites
The theory of planned behavior
Ajzen, I. (1991) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t · Cited by 90,587 · see citing works
Conservation and Education: Prominent Themes in Zoo Mission Statements
Patrick, P. G., Matthews, C. E., Ayers, D. F., & Tunnicliffe, S. D. (2007) · The Journal of Environmental Education · doi:10.3200/joee.38.3.53-60 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The visitor effect on zoo animals: implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare
Sherwen, S. L., & Hemsworth, P. H. (2019) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani9060366 · Cited by 267 · see citing works
“Stereotypies in zoo animals are the most studied behavioural indicator of poor welfare, perhaps because they tend to receive a lot of attention particularly in zoos as they can be relatively well recognized by the public [42].”
BackgroundAn animal welfare risk assessment process for zoos
Sherwen, S. L., Hemsworth, L. M., Beausoleil, N. J., Embury, A., & Mellor, D. J. (2018) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani8080130 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Zoo animal welfare assessment: where do we stand?
Tallo-Parra, O., Salas, M., & Manteca, X. (2023) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani13121966 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Using zoo welfare assessments to identify common issues in developing country zoos
Ward, S. J., Williams, E., Groves, G., Marsh, S., & Morgan, D. (2020) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani10112101 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Chiew, S. J., Butler, K. L., Sherwen, S. L., Coleman, G. J., Melfi, V., Burns, A., & Hemsworth, P. H. (2020) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani10071224 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Why are enrichment practices in zoos difficult to implement effectively?
Tuite, E. K., Moss, S. A., Phillips, C. J., & Ward, S. J. (2022) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani12050554 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
- Authors
- Miller, L. J.
- Affiliations
- Zoological Society of San Diego (US)
- Corresponding author
- Miller, Lance J.
- ORCID
- Miller, Lance J.
- Venue
- Zoo Biology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-07-19
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 242-248
- ISSN
- 0733-3188 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-2361
- OpenAlex
- W1502390323
- Cited by
- 84
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 2.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Zoo Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Animal and Plant Science Education
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Museology › Museums and Cultural Heritage
- Keywords
- pacing behavior, stereotypy, zoo animal welfare, tourist perceptions, tiger, zoo visitor experience, conservation interest, captive animals
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Animal Husbandry, Animal Welfare, Animals, Zoo, Behavior, Animal, Financial Support, Humans, Public Opinion, Surveys and Questionnaires, Stereotyped Behavior, Observation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
