Otters in zoo settings require specialist care providing extensive aquatic environments, high activity enrichment, and appropriate social groupings to achieve acceptable welfare standards.
Otters are charismatic and popular zoo attractions whose welfare frequently suffers from inadequate aquatic environments. The temptation to provide small, visually appealing pools misses the welfare point: otters need extensive aquatic space for the sustained, complex swimming that is central to their natural behavioural repertoire. Stereotypic pacing in otters is a reliable indicator that welfare needs are not being met, and its prevalence in zoo populations suggests widespread welfare deficiencies. Best-practice otter exhibits feature large, naturalistic pools with varying depths and currents, fish-based foraging enrichment, social family group housing, and substrate that enables natural digging and scent-marking. The parallel concern about the illegal otter pet trade — driven partly by their zoo popularity — means zoos have a responsibility to actively discourage keeping otters as pets.