An Analysis of Welfare Standards Within Tiger ( Panthera tigris ) Facilities in Thailand
Open accessAbstract
In Thailand, tigers are more numerous in captivity than they are in the wild, with 51 facilities housing approximately 1962 tigers. As charismatic fauna, tigers are popular with tourists, and the majority of facilities offer a variety of entertainment activities with controversial reports towards the animals' welfare. The aim of this research was to investigate tiger welfare in Thai zoos to identify specific welfare issues. We assessed 34 tourism facilities holding tigers in Thailand in 2019 using a 25‐point welfare assessment that utilizes the Five Domain model (incorporating all five domains: nutrition, physical environment, health, behavioural interactions and mental state). The mental domain score was derived from the scores of the other four domains. Additional data were collected from each facility, including the number of tigers, any colour variants, types of human interaction and admission cost. Welfare scores for each domain were calculated by totalling the scores per domain and dividing by the number of points allocated to that domain. A multiple regression was used to identify any significant predictors of mental domain score. The results revealed that the provision of a suitable physical environment scored the lowest, while nutrition scored the highest though this was still a low score overall. The multiple regression showed that 45.4% of the variance for the mental domain score was significantly affected by the number of colour variants housed and the types of human interaction available with facilities, with more of both these factors contributing to a more negative score. Our results demonstrate the need for urgent, comprehensive infrastructural, species‐appropriate environment and design and animal management improvements to increase animal welfare. Informed institutional change toward the breeding and use of tigers for public interactions is also required. This is the first assessment completed of captive tiger welfare of tiger facilities in Thailand and shows that the welfare concerns encountered are within a high proportion (67%) of Thailand's facilities. This supports the need for the creation and enforcement of effective and clear captive wildlife operational standards to provide a sustained solution for captive tiger welfare and can provide a considered approach to ex‐situ tiger management that, in conjunction with in‐situ efforts, can improve much needed conservation efforts of this species.
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Tigers are often displayed in zoos that prioritise public interaction.
“Tigers are often displayed in zoos that prioritise public interaction [43,44,47]”
From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [43]
The Introduction (page unavailable) says Thai tourist facilities offer tiger photo opportunities and cub feeding, supporting the public-interaction aspect. But the Discussion > Physical Environment (page unavailable) distinguishes zoos from hands-on tourist facilities; the paper does not establish that zoos generally prioritise public interaction. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThailand has an estimated 1,960 tigers in captivity.
“This paper examines the prevalence of colour morphs in zoos housing captive tigers in Thailand, a tiger range country (41), with an estimated 1,960 tigers in captivity [42,43].”
From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [43]
Erzinclioglu et al.'s (2024) study of captive tigers in Thai zoos found that zoos housing greater numbers of colour morphs and higher numbers of animal-visitor interactions resulted in lower mental state scores.
“Erzinclioglu et al. 's (2024) [43] study of captive tigers in Thai zoos found that zoos housing greater numbers of colour morphs and higher numbers of animal-visitor interactions resulted in lower mental state scores.”
From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [43]
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Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns
Erzinçlioğlu, T. S., Piaz, M. T., Chinpilas, T., Hunnestad, A. V., Godfrey, L., & Fourage, A. (2026) · Discover Animals · doi:10.1007/s44338-026-00163-5
Self-citation
- Authors
- Erzinçlioğlu, T. S., Groves, G., & Ward, S.
- Affiliations
- For Tigers Cambridge UK
- Wild Welfare London UK
- Nottingham Trent University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ward, Samantha
- Venue
- Zoo Biology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2024-09-16
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 545-555
- ISSN
- 0733-3188 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-2361
- PMC
- PMC11624624
- OpenAlex
- W4402555255
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 3.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Zoo Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Nottingham Trent University's Institutional Repository (Nottingham Trent Repository) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Keywords
- tiger, captive wildlife, zoos, Five Domains Model, animal welfare assessment, color variants, human-animal interaction, physical environment, nutrition, behavioral interactions, mental states, ex situ conservation, Thailand
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Animal Husbandry, Animal Welfare, Animals, Zoo, Housing, Animal, Thailand, Tigers
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