Providing appropriate environments for bears in zoological settings to support welfare.
Bear welfare in captivity has improved substantially through exhibit redesign that provides behaviorally complex environments, but the fundamental constraints of captivity continue to limit welfare for species evolved for wide-ranging, complex behavioral repertoires. The dramatic reduction in stereotypy rates achieved through enriched environments demonstrates that behavioral expression is a critical welfare dimension, not merely a welfare luxury. Conservation breeding programs for endangered bear species including sun bears and giant pandas provide welfare justification for sophisticated captive management programs. The welfare standard for bears must be high given their intelligence and behavioral complexity.