Amur tigers in zoos require large territories and enrichment to prevent stereotypic pacing. Modern tiger exhibits reflect advances in understanding of feline welfare needs.
Amur tiger welfare in captivity is challenging but achievable to a higher standard than in the past. Stereotypic pacing — the repetitive route-tracing seen in tigers with inadequate environments — is a measurable welfare indicator reflecting chronic frustration of movement and territorial motivation. Modern welfare-positive tiger exhibits provide pools for swimming, multiple indoor-outdoor spaces allowing choice, climbing structures, complex terrain, and varied enrichment that occupies large portions of the active period. The conservation value of captive Amur tiger populations is genuine — the species faces real extinction risk — but individual welfare must not be sacrificed in the name of conservation. A welfare-compromised captive population cannot be a conservation success.