Nutrition is foundational to zoo animal welfare. Advances in zoo nutrition science are reducing disease and improving quality of life across species.
Zoo animal nutrition has advanced significantly from the era of uniform commercial diets to species-specific evidence-based feeding programmes. Nutritional diseases that were once common — including iron overload, vitamin deficiencies and obesity-related conditions — have been dramatically reduced in well-resourced institutions through improved dietary formulation and monitoring. Feeding ecology — how food is presented, not just what is provided — is now recognised as equally important to welfare as nutrient composition. Whole prey items, browse, puzzle feeders and timed feeding schedules that mimic wild patterns provide both nutritional completeness and behavioural enrichment. Ongoing research through the Zoo Nutrition Network continues to improve standards.