Animal Welfare Monitor: Raising the Bar for Species-Specific Welfare Evaluation Using Welfare Quality® Principles

TL;DR

The Animal Welfare Monitor adapts a welfare framework for zoos to create species-specific assessments, improving animal care through tailored protocols and data collection.

Contribution

AWM introduces a four-level hierarchical structure to generate species-specific welfare questionnaires, even for less-studied animals.

Findings

AWM has been applied in 14 zoos, with over 1000 assessments and 15,000 behavioral observations conducted.

The protocol covers 87 species, including mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles, using a standardized methodological framework.

AWM integrates visual documentation and data entry to enhance decision-making and long-term welfare records.

Abstract

Ensuring good welfare for zoo animals requires tools that capture the specific needs of each species. Generic assessments can overlook important details, while species-specific protocols are often difficult to develop, especially for less-studied taxa. The Animal Welfare Monitor® (AWM) addresses this challenge by adapting the Welfare Quality® framework for zoos, using an innovative four-level structure to design tailored questionnaires. Between 2021 and 2025, it has been applied in 14 zoos. The teams have realised over 1000 assessments, including questionnaires and behavioural observations. This approach provides practical, long-term records that guide daily care, support evidence-based decisions, and improve welfare across institutions.

Assessing zoo animal welfare can involve generic evaluations or targeted, species-specific protocols. While the latter offer greater precision, their development is often limited by species diversity and the lack of validated indicators. The Animal Welfare Monitor® (AWM) protocol addresses these challenges by adapting Welfare Quality® principles to zoological contexts. Its core innovation is a four-level hierarchical structure (base, order, family, species) linking broad taxonomic knowledge to species-level protocols. This enables tailored questionnaires for each species, including data-deficient taxa, by leveraging information from related groups. Questionnaires, covering housing, nutrition, health, and behaviour, are complemented by behavioural observations. AWM currently covers 87 species (69 mammals, 15 birds, 2 amphibians, 1 reptile) and constitutes a substantial database of species-specific welfare assessment protocols embedded within a single, standardised methodological framework. Between 2021 and 2025, 14 zoos conducted over 1000 assessments and 15,000 behavioural observations, demonstrating the protocol’s feasibility in routine operations. AWM integrates data entry with visual documentation, such as photographs of enclosures or enrichment, which add context, enhance decision-making, and strengthen long-term records. While refinements such as group-level assessment remain, AWM offers a scalable, flexible tool combining scientific rigour with operational applicability, supporting positive welfare outcomes across diverse zoological institutions.

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