Animal minds, cognitive ethology, and ethics
Our goal in this paper is to provide enough of an account of the origins of cognitive ethology and the controversy surrounding it to help ethicists to gauge for themselves how to balance skepticism and credulity about animal minds when communicating with scientists.We believe that ethicists’ argumentswould benefit from better understanding of the historical roots […]
New Zealand’s inclusive science-based system for setting animal welfare standards
Inclusiveness and science were, and are, essential contributors to the development and operation of New Zealand’s current system for managing animal welfare at a national level. The involvement of individuals and groups with diverse interests, having aligned, complementary or opposing views, is considered to be a most important part of this process. Participants include animal […]
Factors facilitating research: a survey of zoo and aquarium professionals
Abstract The purpose of this survey was to assess the background, training, and perceptions of professionals conducting and coordinating research at North American zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and to identify the factors they considered critical to successful scientific programs. We analyzed responses to a 57-item questionnaire from […]
Empirical zoo: opportunities and challenges to a scientific zoo biology
Maximizing the contribution of science in zoos and aquariums: organizational models and perceptions
The future of zoo biology
The science of zoo biology and the journal of the same name are appropriately perceived as central to the issues that zoological gardens must address in managing large collections of hundreds of different species of animals. However, zoos are also cultural institutions that are seeking relevance in wildlife conservation by reaching out to their enormous […]
Zoo Biology: a voice for science in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Elephant importation from range countries: ethical and practical considerations for accredited zoos
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20102.abs Zoo elephant populations are in serious demographic peril. Advances in elephant management and care are expected to lead to improved reproductive success. The existing cohort of reproductively viable adult females is aging, however, and effective changes may not come fast enough to sustain the population over time. If so, importation of captive, semi-domesticated, […]