Progressive zoos are moving away from traditional elephant management toward protected contact systems and larger naturalistic habitats, with significant welfare improvements.
The management of captive elephants has undergone significant reform as understanding of both welfare science and keeper safety has improved. Free contact management, in which keepers entered elephant enclosures and maintained control through submission-based methods, has been largely replaced by protected contact in which positive reinforcement through barriers achieves cooperation without the safety and welfare risks of dominance-based contact. Larger, more naturalistic enclosures with varied substrates reduce foot disease risk. The ultimate question of whether any zoo setting can adequately meet elephant needs remains contested, with some institutions choosing sanctuary transfer as the most welfare-conscious option for individual animals.