Tigers in zoos are powerful conservation education tools - but welfare must remain primary, with enrichment enabling natural behaviour expression.
Tiger enrichment welfare requires daily, varied stimulation that engages predatory behaviour, olfaction, and locomotion. Well-run tiger facilities with large enclosures, multiple scent enrichment daily, whole prey feeding, and keeper relationship programmes show dramatically lower stereotypy rates and better welfare indicators. Conservation education value is real but must not be used to justify inadequate welfare standards. The welfare case for keeping tigers in captivity must be continuously evaluated - where welfare cannot be adequately provided, conservation funding focused on wild habitat protection achieves better outcomes for the species.