Survey of the husbandry and biosecurity practices of backyard chicken keepers in the UK.

Background: This survey investigated the housing, feeding, health and welfare of backyard chickens kept in the UK.

Methods: Information was collected via an online questionnaire active from May to July 2021. The survey asked about flock demographics, housing, diet, enrichment provision, if the flock was registered with the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) and the reason, preventative health care and biosecurity, and the incidence and methods of euthanasia.

Exploration of cultural norms and behavioural beliefs about zoo animal behaviour, welfare, ethics and husbandry practices in a sample of the international zoo community.

Beliefs influence the intentions of people to behave in certain ways towards animals. This study presents survey responses from 237 people working in zoos in China and Europe and describes their demographic characteristics. It explores their beliefs about zoo animal behaviour, welfare and ethical issues, and zoo practices, using a survey methodology.

Zookeepers - The most important animal in the zoo?

Education to improve knowledge of animal welfare is not a universal component of training for zoo staff, and little is reported about the perspectives of zoo staff on the need for such education. This paper reports results from structured telephone interviews of a diverse sample of eight Chinese and eight European zoo staff about aspects of zoological animal welfare, education and zoological practices. These qualitative data were thematically analyzed and key themes generated.

Developing a Reliable Welfare Assessment Tool for Captive Hibernatory Bear Species.

Animal welfare assessments are essential for the identification of welfare hazards and benchmarking of welfare improvements, though welfare assessments for zoo species are lacking. Bears are commonly housed in zoos but currently no composite welfare assessment tool exists for captive bears. This study describes the development of such a tool for use across hibernating bear species.