Abstract
One challenge facing zoos is balancing welfare needs with other primary goals, which include conservation, education, research, and entertainment. Managing primates in zoos involves similar welfare challenges faced by primates in other environments, which are covered elsewhere in this volume. In this chapter we identify and discuss welfare challenges that are unique to zoo-housed primates. All captive primates experience the presence of familiar humans (animal care staff), however the presence of unfamiliar humans (visitors) is common in zoo environments. In addition to providing a resource to zoo visitors, zoo primates also have an important conservation role that may involve intensive social management to facilitate captive breeding. We first discuss the influence of both familiar and unfamiliar humans on the welfare of zoo primates. We then examine the impact of different methods of social management on primate welfare.
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Baker, K.R., Farmer, H.L. (2023). The Welfare of Primates in Zoos. In: Robinson, L.M., Weiss, A. (eds) Nonhuman Primate Welfare. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82708-3_4
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