Welfare considerations in the retirement of zoo animals, including transition to sanctuary care, euthanasia decisions, and the ethics of zoo animal end-of-life.
Zoo animal retirement raises important ethical questions about the obligations facilities have to individual animals they have kept for decades. Animals that have spent their lives in captivity often cannot be released and may not adapt well to sanctuary transfer. Welfare-centred end-of-life planning that considers quality of life, transfer stress, and appropriate timing of euthanasia is an important component of zoo welfare responsibility.