Assessing Animal Welfare in Animal-Visitor Interactions in Zoos and Other Facilities. A Pilot Study Involving Giraffes

A pilot test of a six-step protocol to evaluate animal-visitor interactions was developed on a “giraffe feeding” program in a zoo. The steps devoted to animal welfare’s assessment are presented in this paper. We observed the giraffes’ behaviour, evaluated the suitability of the area in which the interactions took place, and assessed the intensity of various hazards for animal welfare. The long-term goal of this research project is to test a protocol for the overall evaluation of the quality of animal-visitor interactions in zoos and other facilities. Giraffes could choose whether to participate or not to the feeding interactions with visitors, and did not show any behaviour that suggested they did find the interaction to be a negative experience, so their welfare level was assessed as not to be adversely affected by the interaction with the visitors