Reproductive management in zoos raises welfare issues for both mothers and offspring. Understanding these issues helps evaluate zoo practices and support better standards.
Pregnancy, birth, and early maternal care are periods of high welfare significance in zoo mammals. Captive stress, unfamiliar environments, and lack of experience cause maternal rejection at higher rates than in wild populations — rejected neonates require hand-rearing, which creates its own welfare problems including imprinting and abnormal social development. Hormonal contraception prevents animals from fulfilling reproductive motivation, which may have psychological costs. The welfare of mothers navigating these challenges in artificially constructed social groups deserves explicit consideration in zoo management planning.