ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF VETERINARY STORYTELLING IN THE MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC'S PERCEPTION OF ZOOS

Area of Science:

• Zoological Medicine
• Animal Welfare Science
• Public Perception Studies

Background:

• Public perception of zoos and animal welfare is crucial for conservation efforts.
• Understanding how media influences visitor opinions is key for effective zoo communication.
• Veterinary care is a critical aspect of zoo operations often misunderstood by the public.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a video on zoo visitor perceptions of animal welfare.
• To assess the influence of Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accreditation knowledge on visitor opinions.
• To compare the effectiveness of different media sources in shaping visitor attitudes towards zoos.

Main Methods:

• Systematic recruitment of 330 visitors at Brookfield Zoo Chicago for pre- and post-video surveys.
• Utilized a 7-point Likert scale for 13 survey questions assessing perceptions of zoos and animal welfare.
• Employed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and linear mixed-effects modeling to analyze survey data.

Main Results:

• Visitor perceptions of zoos and animal welfare significantly improved after watching the veterinary care video.
• Visitors aware of AZA accreditation reported significantly more positive perceptions.
• Internally produced zoo media content was rated as the most influential source on opinions regarding zoo animal care.

Conclusions:

• Effective media storytelling about veterinary care can enhance public perception of zoos and animal welfare.
• Zoo veterinarians play a vital role in communicating animal care standards and building public trust.
• Zoo-generated messaging demonstrates significant influence on visitor opinions compared to other media sources.