Chimpanzee cognitive welfare in captivity requires sophisticated enrichment programmes that engage their problem-solving abilities, social cognition, and tool use — going far beyond basic physical enrichment.
Chimpanzee cognitive welfare requires active investment in programmes that continuously challenge and engage their intelligence. A chimp that has solved all puzzles in its environment within weeks needs new, more complex challenges — cognitive welfare requires constant renewal and escalation of enrichment complexity. Social welfare requires stable, appropriate group composition with individual animal choice about social engagement. The evidence from welfare studies consistently shows that chimps in larger, more complex environments with more social complexity show better welfare across all measured dimensions. The ethical bar for keeping chimpanzees in captivity must include demonstrable fulfilment of these complex cognitive and social needs, not merely the absence of acute suffering.