Amphibians face the worst extinction crisis of any vertebrate class, with chytrid fungus driving global declines. Zoos are maintaining critically important "ark" collections while welfare science for these species develops.
Zoo amphibian welfare sits at a unique intersection of conservation emergency and welfare science deficit. These animals are being held in captivity to prevent extinction — a powerful conservation justification — but our understanding of their welfare needs lags far behind that of mammals and birds. Thermal and humidity requirements, social needs, lighting spectra, and substrate complexity vary enormously between the thousands of amphibian species. Bioactive enclosure design — using living plant and microfauna communities to create self-maintaining naturalistic environments — represents the most promising welfare approach, providing environmental complexity that addresses multiple behavioural needs simultaneously. The welfare imperative for zoo amphibians is to invest in species-specific research alongside conservation management.