A basic study on the animal welfare evaluation in Korean zoos

Cho, Kyung Uk; Choe, Byung-In; Kim, Hwi Yool; Han, Jin Soo; Kim, Jin Suk

Korean Journal of Veterinary Research 2009;49(1):91-99.

Kyung Uk Cho¹, Byung-In Choe², Hwi Yool Kim³, Jin Soo Han⁴, Jin Suk Kim³

¹Children's Grand Park, Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management Corporation
²College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea
³Veterinary Science Research Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University
⁴Institute for the 3Rs, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University

국내 동물원의 동물복지 평가에 관한 기초 연구

조경욱¹, 최병인², 김휘율³, 한진수⁴, 김진석³

¹서울시설관리공단 어린이대공원
²가톨릭대학교 의과대학
³건국대학교 수의과대학 수의과학연구소
⁴건국대학교 수의과대학 3R동물복지연구소

Abstract

The concept about zoo is changing from the animal exhibition which simply contained the animals to the ecological zoo which has the function of preserving the animal species. At the central point of maintaining such role, the basic principle called the animal welfare lies obviously. Korea has applied the animal welfare principles such as carrying out the enrichment in the zoos since 2003, but there has not been any institutional device to evaluate and examine the application of the animal welfare so far. This study aims to confirm the level of animal welfare in Korea and suggest a developmental direction. For the purpose of the study, 12 zoos in Korea were evaluated according to 68 evaluating categories. 'Five Principles of Animal Welfare' in the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice were selected and carried out as the evaluation categories, and the result, from the highest to lowest score given, was 'provision of food and water', 'provision of protection from fear and distress', 'provision of health care', 'provision of an opportunity to express most normal behaviours', and 'provision of a suitable enrichment' with the overall score of the entire Korean zoos being 2.86 (${pm}$ 0.56). It was also confirmed that in order to improve the animal welfare of the Korean zoos, the animal management system must be standardized and organized. The evaluation and feedback, the active practice of animal welfare and its legislative support should be provided to establish an effective institutional device as well.

Key Words: animal welfare evaluation, enrichment, five principles, Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice, zoo animal welfare