Animal-Visitor Interactions in Zoos and Aquariums: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Animal Welfare Science
• Ethology
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Human-animal interaction (HAI) research is crucial for assessing animal welfare.
• Animal-visitor interactions (AVI) in zoos represent a growing area of HAI research.
• Early AVI studies predominantly focused on negative visitor effects on primates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify trends and changes in animal-visitor interaction (AVI) research.
• To analyze key factors in AVI studies, including interaction types, taxa studied, and welfare impacts.
• To review the evolution of AVI research over the last two decades.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review using Covidence and PRISMA guidelines.
• Screening and data extraction from 157 AVI-related publications.
• Analysis of 314 individual studies within the selected publications.

Main Results:

• AVI publications have significantly increased, especially since 2020.
• Research focus has shifted from primates to non-primate species.
• While negative welfare impacts were initially more reported, positive impacts are increasingly documented.
• Most studies investigate visitor effects on animals, rather than visitor experiences.

Conclusions:

• AVI research is evolving in terms of study types, species focus, and outcome measures.
• Future AVI research should prioritize standardized welfare assessments and experimental controls.
• Integrating visitor education with positive animal welfare outcomes is essential for future zoo-based HAI research.