Providing nutritionally complete, species-appropriate diets is fundamental to zoo animal welfare. Poor nutrition underlies many health and behavioural problems in captive animals.
Zoo animal nutrition welfare is a complex and sometimes underappreciated aspect of captive care. Animals evolved to process specific foods in specific ways - departures from this create metabolic stress, disease, and chronic pain. Primates fed highly processed diets develop dental disease and obesity. Felids need muscle meat with bone to maintain dental health and provide behavioural satisfaction. Herbivores require appropriate fibre levels to maintain gut motility and psychological wellbeing. The progress in zoo nutrition science has been substantial, but implementation across all zoos globally remains uneven. Welfare-focused zoos invest heavily in nutrition research and continual diet assessment.