Big cats including lions, tigers, and leopards are kept in a wide range of captive settings globally. Welfare standards vary enormously from exemplary zoo programmes to deeply problematic cub petting operations.
Big cats have vast territorial needs in the wild — male lions may range over hundreds of square kilometres. Captive environments cannot replicate this, but they can provide enrichment, appropriate social groupings, and freedom from fear. The worst captive settings impose profound welfare suffering: constant pacing in barren enclosures, social isolation, tourist handling, and inadequate veterinary care. The cub petting industry is particularly harmful — cubs are taken from mothers immediately, subjected to constant handling during a critical socialisation period, and typically euthanised or sold when too old to be handled safely.