RESUMEN
In Thailand, tigers are more numerous in captivity than they are in the wild, with 51 facilities housing approximately 1962 tigers. As charismatic fauna, tigers are popular with tourists, and the majority of facilities offer a variety of entertainment activities with controversial reports towards the animals' welfare. The aim of this research was to investigate tiger welfare in Thai zoos to identify specific welfare issues. We assessed 34 tourism facilities holding tigers in Thailand in 2019 using a 25-point welfare assessment that utilizes the Five Domain model (incorporating all five domains: nutrition, physical environment, health, behavioural interactions and mental state). The mental domain score was derived from the scores of the other four domains. Additional data were collected from each facility, including the number of tigers, any colour variants, types of human interaction and admission cost. Welfare scores for each domain were calculated by totalling the scores per domain and dividing by the number of points allocated to that domain. A multiple regression was used to identify any significant predictors of mental domain score. The results revealed that the provision of a suitable physical environment scored the lowest, while nutrition scored the highest though this was still a low score overall. The multiple regression showed that 45.4% of the variance for the mental domain score was significantly affected by the number of colour variants housed and the types of human interaction available with facilities, with more of both these factors contributing to a more negative score. Our results demonstrate the need for urgent, comprehensive infrastructural, species-appropriate environment and design and animal management improvements to increase animal welfare. Informed institutional change toward the breeding and use of tigers for public interactions is also required. This is the first assessment completed of captive tiger welfare of tiger facilities in Thailand and shows that the welfare concerns encountered are within a high proportion (67%) of Thailand's facilities. This supports the need for the creation and enforcement of effective and clear captive wildlife operational standards to provide a sustained solution for captive tiger welfare and can provide a considered approach to ex-situ tiger management that, in conjunction with in-situ efforts, can improve much needed conservation efforts of this species.
RESUMEN
Numerous facilities around the world offer tourists interactive experiences with captive tigers. Yet, the animal welfare implications of this practice have not been widely studied. This study aimed to investigate whether qualitative behavioral assessment (QBA) could: (i) provide a valid indicator of tiger's emotional state and (ii) be applied to assess whether unfamiliar human presence with hand-raised captive tigers had an impact on the emotional state of those tigers. To investigate this, QBA was applied to video clips of hand-raised captive tigers from three sites (two offering unfamiliar human interaction, Sites A and C, and one retirement site with no direct interactions, Site B) in Thailand. QBA allows inferences to be made about animal emotion on the basis of descriptions of behavioral expression. Analysis, using a free choice profiling methodology, was provided by observers (N = 38) split between three groups; tiger keepers and vets from the Thai venues (n = 12), UK-based animal behavior MSc and vet students (n = 16), and international tiger keepers (n = 10). Tigers (N = 35) were split between Sites A (n = 7), B (n = 18), and C (n = 10) and filmed at three time points; morning (0800-0930 h); midday, (1130-1230 h); and evening, (1630-1830h) totaling 105 clips. Using generalized procrustes analysis, a consensus profile was calculated for each observer group. Two meaningful dimensions of behavioral expression, explaining 75.0% of the variation, were observed across these groups: Dimension 1 (D1: "active"/"interested"/"agitated" to "relaxed"/"calm"/"chilled-out") and Dimension 2 (D2: "bored"/"stressed"/"frustrated" to "relaxed"/"curious"/"interested"). There was clear agreement between the three observer groups in terms of tiger emotional expression along D1. However, agreement was more variable on D2. The behavioral expression on D1 was not significantly affected by site but was significantly affected by an interaction between age and time of day. Time of day also affected scores on D2, with the Thai observer group also showing an effect of site. During the midday period, when unfamiliar humans were present, all tiger age groups showed more positive behavioral expressions on D1 (lower scores: "relaxed"/"calm"/"chilled-out") and more negative behavioral expressions on D2 (higher scores: "bored"/"stressed"/"frustrated"), which could indicate that the presence of unfamiliar humans was a stressor. However, tigers in the retirement Site C also displayed similar behavioral expressions, which could indicate a deeper welfare issue. With further development, QBA could be used as part of a valid tool for long-term measurement of behavioral expression in captive tigers.