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Cited by 6Animal Behavior and Welfare StudiesAnimal and Plant Science EducationConservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education

High Prevalence of Dysfunctional Animal–Visitor Interactions in 225 Southeast Asian Zoos and Aquariums

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Fourage, Anna, Erzinclioglu, Tanya, Fairey, Amanda, Campera, Marco, Nekaris, K. Anne-Isola, Nijman, Vincent·2024·Animals
DOI 10.3390/ani14223167PMC PMC11591196
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Abstract

Humans have long delighted in being entertained by captive wild animals. In zoos and aquariums, animal–visitor interactions allow visitors to experience direct or indirect contact with animals. Well-managed animal–visitor interactions can help zoos and aquariums contribute to their educational objectives by eliciting pro-conservation behaviours from visitors while providing good animal welfare for the animals involved. However, some interactions are dysfunctional because they cause physical and psychological harm to the animal and reinforce negative values and beliefs towards conservation. We aimed to assess how dysfunctional animal–visitor interactions are and whether accreditation by zoological associations reduced the number of such interactions. We visited Thai zoos in person and conducted online monitoring of facilities in Southeast Asia. We report 1165 animal–visitor interactions in nine Southeast Asian countries in 225 zoos and aquariums. Taking photos with animals (“selfies”) and riding on animals were scored as the animal–visitor interactions that were the most dysfunctional. The number of animal–visitor interactions was not less in accredited zoos, and there was little difference among countries. Behaviour change needs to form a strategy for change, in addition to robust legislation and improved efforts by zoological associations to push members to maintain standards and mentor non-accredited facilities.

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  • Any financial gains from colour morph presence are unlikely to be directed toward in-situ conservation efforts, given that many private zoos engage in exploitative animal-visitor interactions.

    “Any financial gains from their presence are unlikely to be directed toward in-situ conservation efforts [55], given that many private zoos engage in exploitative animal-visitor interactions [68].”

    From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [68]

    The Discussion and Conclusions (sections 4 and 5; page unavailable) report that many Southeast Asian zoos and aquariums offer harmful or dysfunctional animal–visitor interactions. The paper does not establish that this finding applies specifically to privately owned zoos. The separate claim about where financial gains go is attributed to [55], not this source. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The use of colour morph tigers in animal-visitor interactions is among the most popular but problematic forms of zoo experiences.

    “The situation is further complicated by the use of colour morph tigers in animal-visitor interactions, which are among the most popular but problematic forms of zoo experiences [58,68].”

    From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [68]

    The Results (§3.1; page unavailable) identify big-cat photo opportunities as the most prevalent and describe troubling handling practices. The Discussion (§4.1; page unavailable) calls tigers popular and describes exploitative interactions, but the passages do not establish that colour-morph tigers specifically are used in or are among the most popular of these interactions. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Big cats represent approximately 25% of all animal-visitor interactions in Thailand.

    “Big cats represent approximately 25% of all animal-visitor interactions in Thailand [68].”

    From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [68]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Fourage, A., Erzinclioglu, T., Fairey, A., Campera, M., Nekaris, K. A.-I., & Nijman, V.
Affiliations
  • Oxford Brookes University (GB)
  • For Tigers, Cambridge CB23 1HB, UK
Corresponding author
Nijman, Vincent
ORCID
Venue
Animals
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2024-11-05
Volume
14
Issue
22
Pages
3167
ISSN
2076-2615 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/ani14223167
PMC
PMC11591196
OpenAlex
W4404059593
Cited by
6
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 2
FWCI
3.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Animals (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Animal and Plant Science Education
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
Keywords
zoos, aquariums, captive wildlife, animal welfare, visitor behavior, conservation education, Southeast Asia, Thailand

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