What does good welfare really look like for bears and other non-human animals living in zoos—and how can we measure it in meaningful, practical ways?

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Anna Fourage, animal welfare expert, to explore the development of welfare assessment tools for captive bears, with a special focus on zoos across Asia and Thailand. She co-founded People or Pets in China, holds an MSc in International Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Law from the University of Edinburgh, and just finished her PhD in anthropology researching the role of zoos in Thailand. Anna shares key insights from recent research on creating a composite welfare assessment tool for hibernatory bears, unpacking its major findings, strengths, and current limitations.

We dive into the reliability of keeper ratings as welfare indicators across different institutions, discussing the real challenges of intra- and inter-rater consistency. Together, we explore which behavioural, physiological, and environmental indicators are currently the most valid for assessing bear welfare.

Beyond the science, this conversation tackles the practical and ethical realities of zoo welfare. How can welfare tools be designed to be both scientifically robust and realistically usable, especially in resource-limited settings? What are the biggest barriers facing Thai zoos in improving welfare standards?

We also broaden the lens to the global ethical challenges of keeping large mammals in captivity, discussing the evolving mission of modern zoos—balancing conservation, education, and animal welfare—and how visitors can be meaningfully engaged in that mission.

An essential listen for anyone interested in animal welfare science, zoo ethics, conservation, andthe future of captive wildlife care.

Dive deeper...

Environmental Parameters as Indicators of Bear Welfare (Fourage et al. 2025)- https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.70010

High Prevalence of Dysfunctional Animal–Visitor Interactions in 225 Southeast Asian Zoos and Aquariums (Fourage et al., 2024)- https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14223167

Increase in the number of captive lions in Thailand suggests ineffective legislation (Fourage et al., 2025) https://doi.org/10.1007/s44353-025-00040-4

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