Artificial Intelligence's Potential in Zoo Animal Welfare

Area of Science:

• Animal Welfare Science
• Artificial Intelligence Applications
• Zoo and Aquarium Management

Background:

• Traditional animal welfare assessment methods struggle with scalability in zoos and aquariums.
• There is a growing need for objective and regular welfare evaluations.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a potential solution for automated monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in AI for animal welfare monitoring relevant to zoos and aquariums.
• To highlight AI applications across various animal groups, including farm, companion, and laboratory animals.
• To explore the potential of AI in improving zoo and aquarium animal management.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent studies on AI in animal behavior and welfare.
• Focus on AI applications in farm animals (poultry, pigs, sheep, cattle), companion animals, and laboratory animals.
• Examination of AI use in zoos for individual identification, movement tracking, and behavior quantification.

Main Results:

• AI is increasingly used for behavior identification, vocalization classification, and welfare concern detection in farm animals.
• AI tools are employed for facial and vocalization-based emotion recognition in companion animals.
• AI facilitates individual animal identification, movement monitoring, and enrichment usage quantification in zoos.

Conclusions:

• AI demonstrates significant promise for enhancing animal welfare monitoring and management in zoos and aquariums.
• Automated AI systems can provide more efficient and accurate assessments compared to traditional methods.
• The continued advancement of AI is expected to revolutionize animal care practices in zoological institutions.