Percepções do respeito ao bem-estar animal nos zoológicos do Brasil: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

The brazilians zoological gardens are existing institutions since 1888. Although the country jurisdiction code started showing itself worried about animal welfare only after 1934 – almost 50 years later – describing mistreatment like conditions to animals. Bearing in mind that in order to society become sensitize a about nature conservation methods, like ex situ conservation, done by institutions like zoos, it is necessary that they recognize factors that have influence on the health of these beings, whether to check the team support local and pressure the public or private administration, whether by encountering them in their original environments and knowing how to respect them without intervening in their natural behaviors. The present work aimed to investigate the perceptions of two audiences: the general population and animal health professionals regarding respect for animal welfare in Brazilian zoos. From that, associate the level of specific knowledge in the area with the perception of respect for the requirements for maintaining the quality of life of these creatures, selecting diverse alternatives to strengthen compliance with animal welfare and understanding which group Environmental Education should be strengthened in order to achieve the purpose of zoos and reducing agitation in the middle of public exposure. To this end, it was necessary to develop a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), in order to cover as many institutions as possible in the country, in the period between 2010 and 2023, because in 2015 the most recent Normative Instruction was launched with guidelines on size, places and equipment that must be contained in captive wildlife enclosures. The public demonstrated that they see respect for animal welfare with similar attributes to those involved in the animal health field: large, clean enclosures with an environment similar to that found in nature, but participants in the animal health field also add the need for environmental enrichment and hiring specialized professionals. Nevertheless, both audiences demonstrated a need for reinforcement in terms of knowledge and how they can help promote this type of well-being. Furthermore, the practice of new Environmental Education methods is recommended, such as an introduction to the public accompanied by instructions before authorizing them to proceed to the visit.