Human–Animal Interactions in Zoos: Integrating Science and Practice

Interactions that animals experience can have a significant influence on their health and welfare. These interactions can occur between animals themselves, but also between animals and keepers, and animals and the public. Human and non-human animals come into contact with each other in a variety of settings, and wherever there is contact there is the opportunity for interaction to take place. Interaction with companion animals are well known, but human–animal interaction (HAR) (Hosey, 2008) also occurs in the context of farms (Hemsworth and Gonyou, 1997; Hemsworth, 2003), laboratories (Chang and Hart, 2002), zoos (Kreger and Mench, 1995) and even the wild (e.g. Cassini, 2001). This project proposes a permanent monitoring scheme to record animal-human interactions and animal-animal interactions in zoos. This will be accompanied by a survey of animal personality for welfare, husbandry, breeding programs and reintroduction purposes. The pilot project is currently based on direct monitoring of animal behaviour, use of time lapse cameras and animal personality questionnaires completed by experienced keepers. The goal of this project is to create a network between zoos to explore the aforementioned interactions to produce husbandry protocols and explore personality and behavioural traits in multiple species. We present provisional data regarding polar bear (Fasano Zoosafari, Italy), Sumatran tigers, Amur tigers and Asiatic lion (ZSL London and Whipsnade zoo) interactions with humans and conspecifics. This data is collected across a broad range of environmental conditions and outlines the monitoring protocols developed to collect this data. The first year data show the great adaptability of these species to ex situ environments, low or absent negative impact of visitors’ presence and the relevance of individual personality in these interactions.

Simple SummaryThis article is an examination of human–animal interactions in zoos from an ethical perspective, their benefits to both human and animal participants, and also their potential risks and ethical dilemmas. Contact with animals can be beneficial for all parties involved, and can indeed lead to pro-conservation and respect for nature behaviours being adopted by humans after so-called “profound experiences” of connecting or interacting with animals. Yet, human–animal interactions may also increase certain individuals’ desires for inappropriate wild-animal ‘pet’ ownership, and can convey a false sense of acceptability of exploiting animals for “cheap titillation”. Three ethical frameworks that may be beneficial for ethically run zoos to incorporate when considering human–animal interactions are: Compassionate Conservation, Conservation Welfare and Duty of Care. Human–animal interactions in zoos may be acceptable in many circumstances, and may be beneficial to both animal and human participants; however, they must be closely monitored through welfare tracking tools. Melding Duty of Care and the two Conservation ethical frameworks would be ideal for assessing the ethical acceptability of such interactions.Human–animal interactions (HAIs) in zoos can be rewarding for both humans and animals, but can also be fraught with ethical and welfare perils. Contact with animals can be beneficial for all parties involved, and can indeed lead to pro-conservation and respect for nature behaviours being adopted by humans after so-called “profound experiences” of connecting or interacting with animals. Yet, human–animal interactions may also increase certain individuals’ desires for inappropriate wild-animal ‘pet’ ownership, and can convey a false sense of acceptability of exploiting animals for “cheap titillation”. Indeed, this has been reflected in a recent research review conducted on animal–visitor interactions in zoos from a number of different countries and global regions. These are unintended consequences that ”modern, ethical zoos” would try to minimise, or avoid completely where possible, though most zoos still offer close-contact experiences with their animals. Three ethical frameworks that may be beneficial for ethically run zoos to incorporate when considering human–animal interactions are: Compassionate Conservation, Conservation Welfare and Duty of Care. These three ethical frameworks are concerned with the welfare state and outcomes for individual animals, not just the population or species. Human–animal interactions in zoos may be acceptable in many circumstances and may be beneficial to both animal and human participants; however, they must be closely monitored through welfare tracking tools. The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has published guidelines for human–animal interactions that are mandatory for member institutions to adhere to, although whether these guidelines are taken as mandatory or suggestions at individual institutions is unknown. Some suggestions for relevant extensions to the guidelines are suggested herein. Melding Duty of Care and the two Conservation ethical frameworks would be ideal for assessing the ethical acceptability of such interactions as they currently occur, and for considering how they should be modified to occur (or not) into the future in zoological settings.

Simple SummaryThis paper addresses the killing of Freya the Walrus by the Norwegian fishing authorities in August 2022. Freya became famous for sunbathing on boats in the marina in the Oslo fjord, but she was soon euthanized in the name of public safety. Her death caused international outrage, and the aim of our paper is to demonstrate using philosophical argument why her death was unjust. We examine her plight through frameworks developed by animal ethicists involving co-sovereignty, capability, and individuality, concluding that any one of these frameworks, let alone several, would have led to a more just outcome for Freya. We argue that policy makers could put these insights into practice in a number of concrete ways going forward, as such incidents are likely to reoccur given the changes in migration patterns for animals in the Anthropocene era.Freya the Walrus, who often climbed onto docked boats to sunbathe and frolic, was euthanized by the Norwegian Department of Fisheries in the Oslo fjord in August 2022, sparking international outrage and media attention. Since walruses are social animals, and since the Anthropocene era of climate change has displaced animals from their Arctic homes, forcing them to migrate, we can expect more human–animal interactions at such places as marinas, where Freya met her end. This paper asks and attempts to answer how we can make such interactions just going forward? In cases such as Freya’s, we need to reconcile three competing interests: the animal’s interest in living a flourishing life as best they can in a changing climate; the public’s interest in a safe and fulfilling wildlife encounter with an animal they have come to know intimately enough to name and follow devotedly on social media; and interests in maintaining private property. Examining these interests through the philosophical lenses of co-sovereignty, capability, and individuality, however, will yield more just results for animals in similar situations of conflict and co-existence with humans in urban spaces. We argue that, going forward, state resources should be expended to safeguard the public from marina access if safety is a genuine concern, while private money should be spent by marinas to enact safe animal removal with a no-kill policy.

An increase in the prevalence of stress among college students is compromising their mental health and academic success. One approach to stress prevention that has seen a surge in implementation is the use of university-based Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs). Despite their popularity and promising causal findings, program evaluations on students’ responsiveness (e.g., enjoyment, attendance, perceptions on usefulness and behavioral change) have yet to be conducted. Using a mixed methods approach, this study reports results of a program evaluation embedded in a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of incorporating various levels (0%, 50% or 100%) of Human Animal Interaction (HAI) into a four-week long university-based stress prevention program resulting in three conditions: (1) Evidence-based Academic Stress Management content only (0% HAI), (2) Human Animal Interaction with therapy dogs only (100% HAI) and (3) equal combinations of Academic Stress Management and HAI (50% HAI). Responsiveness (e.g., enjoyment, usefulness, recommendation and behavioral change) was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively using self-reported survey data collected immediately following the program and again six weeks later. The results suggest that combining evidence-based content presentations with HAI was associated with higher levels of enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and likelihood of recommendation compared to presenting content presentation or HAI alone, although doing so did not result in differences in perceived behavioral change by condition. Themes of students’ perceptions on the role of HAI in shaping program enjoyment, usefulness, recommendations and behavioral change were described.

Built nature spaces have been increasingly integrated into our urban environments in recent years with the aim of reaping their psychological benefits. However, despite numerous works of research on the relationship between nature exposure and well-being, most studies have looked into the benefits of well-being from the lens of isolated elements of nature, such as natural scenery or animal exposure. This study aims to fill in the gaps by examining the additive and multiplicative relationships between natural scenery exposure and human–animal interaction on affective well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, and stress) through a daily diary study. Over seven days, natural scenery exposure, human–animal interactions, and affective well-being of 514 young adults were assessed. Through multilevel modelling, we found that natural scenery exposure was associated with increased positive affect at the within- and between-person levels. Moreover, human–animal interaction was associated with increased positive affect at the within-person level. No evidence was found for human–animal interaction as a moderator of the relationship between natural scenery exposure and affective well-being. Our findings support the additive, but not multiplicative, relations between natural scenery exposure and human–animal interactions on their influence on affective well-being. The exploratory analysis showed the lack of multiplicative relationship which can be attributed to the distinct mechanism of the effect between natural scenery exposure and human–animal interactions on affective well-being.

Research on the relationship between human animal interaction (HAI) and health and well-being over the life course typically focuses on specific age groups. This is particularly the case in the United States where HAI measures have not historically been included in longitudinal studies. We present a brief overview of the role of companion animals in healthy development and aging over the life course and evidence of how HAI may affect those processes. Limitations of research on HAI and health to date are discussed with a focus on the need to include measures of pet ownership and attachment in population representative samples to facilitate secondary analysis. Several population-representative data resources that can be used to study HAI across the life course in the United States are described: the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort, the General Social Survey, and the Health and Retirement Study. Opportunities for researchers to contribute to the growing multidisciplinary field of HAI research are discussed.

To gain an edge in performance, athletes, coaches, trainers, and sport psychologists worldwide leverage findings from psychological research to develop training and performance strategies. The field of sport psychology draws upon research on stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and team building to develop these strategies. Here, we introduce human-animal interaction as a potential area of research that may apply to athletic performance. Structured interactions with animals—particularly therapy dogs—can provide physiological benefits associated with stress and the oxytocin system, psychological benefits for anxiety and motivation, and social benefits through social support. Yet these effects have not yet been systematically investigated in athletes. Integration of human-animal interactions into athletics can occur through animal visitation programmes and resident therapy animal programmes. Integrating human-animal interactions into athletics presents some unique challenges and limitations that must be considered before implementing these programmes, and these interactions are not a panacea that will work in every situation. But, given the amount of human-animal interaction research suggesting benefits in medicine, mental health, and education contexts, it is worthwhile exploring potential benefits not just for athletic performance, but also for injury prevention and recovery. Highlights Human–animal interaction is a potential area of research that may apply to athletic performance. Structured interactions with animals can provide physiological, psychological, and social benefits to athletes, through it is not a panacea that will work in every situation. Integrating human–animal interactions into athletics presents some unique challenges and limitations that must be considered before implementing these programs.

Human–animal interaction (HAI) is an interface between two complex organisms; variables specific to the human (e.g., biology, learning history, personality), the animal (e.g., species, breed, biology, learning history, personality), and the situation (e.g., setting, length of interaction, treatment goals) impact how the human and animal interact and potential outcomes of the interaction. In addition to laboratory experiments testing basic phenomena, large-scale data collection is needed to parse out information on each variable as it relates to animal-assisted intervention (AAI). The citizen-science approach, which involves the public participating in the scientific process, could be useful in such an endeavor. Beyond individual studies addressing one variable at a time, the citizen-science approach could be used to grow large databases of many variables relevant to AAI. This chapter provides an example of the citizen-science approach applied to AAI. The study demonstrates the potential to gather data from a pool of nonscientists, capitalizing on the growing number of people and pets providing animal-assisted services.

Simple SummaryPsychotherapy, learning, and other interventions incorporating animals are on the rise. Researchers are interested in outcomes for human recipients and intervention animals. This study addressed the welfare of intervention animals by observing maintenance behaviors, which are daily activities that animals emit for survival (e.g., eating, moving, and sleeping). The researchers scanned the pasture before, during, and after equine-assisted (psychosocial) learning sessions, recording horses’ alertness, eating, and movement, which differed. The researchers also measured human–horse interaction, recording when humans approached the horses or the horses approached humans during equine-assisted learning sessions. These interactions were mostly from humans toward horses. Humans initiated and reciprocated interactions with horses, while horses mostly ignored or avoided interactions with humans. Applying a symbiosis framework to examine the costs and benefits of equine-assisted intervention, these findings on maintenance behavior suggest a potential cost for the animals—an interruption of or alteration in their maintenance behavior.This study examined human–animal symbiosis in an animal-assisted intervention through observations of animal maintenance behaviors. The rise of psychotherapy, learning, and recreation incorporating animals warrants exploration of the welfare of the animals involved in these interventions. The analysis of welfare in multispecies engagements can be discussed in terms of symbiosis. Regarding an intervention’s animal provider (e.g., therapy horse) and human recipient (psychotherapy client), the balance of cost and benefit is important. Research describing human and animal interactive behavior during interventions is limited, whether focusing on client outcomes or animal welfare. The present study adapted ethological methods to study humans and animals in an equine-assisted intervention, observing equine maintenance behaviors and equid–human interactive behavior. Maintenance behaviors were recorded before, during, and after equine-assisted (psychosocial) learning sessions with youth, providing 1600 observations. Equine alertness, eating behavior, and ambulation varied significantly before, during, and after the equine-assisted sessions. Such interruptions of typical behavior are an important aspect of welfare and unit of analysis when examining symbiotic relationships. A total of 267 sequences of equid–human approach–response behavior were also recorded, indicating that human–animal interaction was predominantly from humans toward equids. Equids’ dominant response to human approach was no response, followed by avoidance, while humans’ dominant response to equid approach was reciprocation. The findings are discussed in terms of symbiosis and animal welfare.

Animals under human care are exposed to a potentially large range of both familiar and unfamiliar humans. Human-animal interactions vary across settings, and individuals, with the nature of the interaction being affected by a suite of different intrinsic and extrinsic factors. These interactions can be described as positive, negative or neutral. Across some industries, there has been a move towards the development of technologies to support or replace human interactions with animals. Whilst this has many benefits, there can also be challenges associated with increased technology use. A day-long Animal Welfare Research Network workshop was hosted at Harper Adams University, UK, with the aim of bringing together stakeholders and researchers (n = 38) from the companion, farm and zoo animal fields, to discuss benefits, challenges and limitations of human-animal interactions and machine-animal interactions for animals under human care and create a list of future research priorities. The workshop consisted of four talks from experts within these areas, followed by break-out room discussions. This work is the outcome of that workshop. The key recommendations are that approaches to advancing the scientific discipline of machine-animal interactions in animals under human care should focus on: (1) interdisciplinary collaboration; (2) development of validated methods; (3) incorporation of an animal-centred perspective; (4) a focus on promotion of positive animal welfare states (not just avoidance of negative states); and (5) an exploration of ways that machines can support a reduction in the exposure of animals to negative human-animal interactions to reduce negative, and increase positive, experiences for animals.

15 - Human/animal interaction and successful aging

Human–animal interaction (HAI) constitutes an important source of companionship, comfort, and support during times of illness, stress, loneliness, isolation, and trauma. Worldwide, research documents ways in which HAI stimulates verbal communication, increases empathy and morale, and facilitates social connections for support, belonging, recognition, and status. Researchers have also found positive associations between HAI and physical health. Pet ownership and/or engagement with therapeutic animals in animal‐assisted interventions (AAI) helps promote physical fitness, attachment, and the production of oxytocin while also lowering blood pressure, stress, and even mortality following a heart attack. Evidence also suggests HAI may contribute to reduced depression, anxiety, and loneliness for improved well‐being across the lifespan. Although interdisciplinary, most HAI research originates from outside of the health communication discipline. Scholars and practitioners interested in HAI hail from a variety of fields such as psychology, medicine, sociology, nursing, social work, and veterinary medicine. As interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners continue to solidify and clarify the benefits of AAI for people and animals, the HAI field will continue to flourish. Health communication scholars can contribute to this meaningful growth by developing evidence‐based interventions, advocating for AAI in public policy, and promoting professionalization of the field as a valued treatment modality.

Animal Visitation Programs (AVPs) targeting college students’ stress and academic success have increased, despite limited research on academic outcomes. This randomized controlled trial (N = 349) examined the effects of incorporating levels of Human–animal Interaction (HAI) (0%, 50% or 100%) with therapy dogs in a four-week academic stress management program. Conditions included (1) Academic Stress Management (ASM) content only (0% HAI), (2) Human–animal Interaction only (100% HAI) and (3) equal combinations of ASM content and HAI (50% HAI). Intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses examined the effects of students’ risk status (N = 146; depression, anxiety, perceived stress, worry) and treatment condition on students’ learning and study strategies at posttest and follow-up. The results showed interactions between condition and risk status demonstrating higher posttest levels of WILL (i.e., anxiety, attitude, motivation) (Β = 0.582, p = 0.005) and SELFREGULATION (i.e., concentration, self-testing, study aids, time management) (Β = 0.501, p = 0.031) for at-risk students receiving equal combinations of HAI and content presentations. Moderation effects remained at follow-up (Β = 0.626, p = 0.005; Β = 0.630, p = 0.007). At-risk students receiving only HAI (100%) also showed higher levels of WILL at posttest (Β = 0.481, p = 0.021) and follow up (Β = 0.490, p = 0.038). University administrators should consider providing at-risk students with targeted programs with varying levels of HAI and ASM content, depending on the targeted academic outcome.

Researchers in the human-animal interaction (HAI) field face a challenge in generalizing the impact of pet ownership and companion animal interaction from small samples to larger populations. While researchers in Europe and Australia have included measures of pet ownership and attachment in surveys for some time (e.g., the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children), survey researchers in the United States have been slow to incorporate questions related to HAI in population representative studies. One reason for this may be that many of the current HAI-related measures involve long, complex scales. From the survey administration perspective, using complex scales is costly in terms of both time and money. The development and validation of brief measures of HAI will facilitate the inclusion of these measures in larger surveys. This paper describes the psychometric properties of two brief attachment measures used in the first population-representative study of child development in the United States that includes HAI items, the 2014 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) Child Development Supplement (CDS). We use two measures derived from the 29 item CENSHARE Pet Attachment Survey, one for children aged 8–17 (6-items) and one for the primary caregiver (3 items). The results suggest that such brief measures of attachment to pets are psychometrically valid and are a practical method of measuring HAI attachment in larger surveys using only a few survey items. We encourage HAI researchers to work with other ongoing surveys to incorporate these and comparable HAI measures.

Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) are neuropeptides with diverse effects on social behavior, cognition and stress responses. Recent studies suggest that OT facilitates and responds to affiliative forms of human–animal interaction (HAI). However, previous studies measuring OT and AVP in dogs have been limited to measures from blood or urine, which present concerns related to the invasiveness of sample collection, the potential for matrix interference in immunoassays, and whether samples can be collected at precise time points to assess event-linked endocrine responses. Previous studies from our laboratory validated salivary measures of OT and AVP in dogs, however, it is currently unknown whether these measures respond dynamically to aspects of HAI. Here, we investigated the effects of affiliative forms of HAI on both plasma and salivary OT and AVP in dogs. We employed a within- and between-subjects design with a group of Labrador retrievers and Labrador retriever × golden retriever crosses (23 females, 15 males). Half of the dogs engaged in 10 min of free-form friendly interaction with a human experimenter (HAI condition), and the other half rested quietly in the same environment, without human interaction (control condition). We collected blood and saliva samples before, and immediately following both experimental conditions, and all samples were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) following previously validated protocols. Dogs participating in HAI exhibited a significant increase in both salivary OT (+39%) and plasma OT (+5.7%) whereas dogs in the control group did not. Salivary AVP showed no change in the HAI group but increased significantly (+33%) in the control group. Plasma AVP decreased significantly following HAI (-13%) but did not change across time in the control condition. Within the dogs exposed to HAI, increases in salivary OT, and decreases in plasma AVP, were predicted by the extent of affiliative behavior between the dog and human (indexed by scores from a principal components analysis of social behaviors between the dog and human). Collectively our results suggest that measures of salivary OT and AVP provide useful biomarkers in studies of HAI, and afford a flexible and non-invasive toolkit than can be employed in diverse research contexts.