Animal Welfare

At Hobart Zoo and Aquarium, animal welfare is at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to align our animal care practices with the Five Domains Model of Animal Welfare, the internationally recognised framework used by the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia (ZAA) to assess and promote positive animal welfare.

The Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) is the peak industry body representing leading zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks and sanctuaries across Australasia.

ZAA accredited institutions focus on ensuring animals have opportunities to experience a good life through positive welfare, enrichment, and continual improvement.

The Five Domains

The Five Domains Model recognises that an animal's overall welfare is influenced by four physical domains—Nutrition, Environment, Health and Behaviour—which together shape the fifth domain: Mental State.

Hobart Zoo and Aquarium’s commitment to the Five Domains Model reflects our dedication to providing exceptional care for the animals entrusted to us while supporting conservation, education and community engagement.

Nutrition

We provide species-appropriate diets developed to meet the nutritional needs, choice and variety for each animal in our care.

Feeding programs are designed to encourage natural foraging behaviours and promote physical health and wellbeing.

We scatter-feed fruit and vegetables to encourage natural foraging and food-searching behaviours.

Environment

Our exceptional habitats are designed to provide comfort, safety and enrichment opportunities for animals to engage in natural behaviours.

We continually review and improve enclosures to ensure they meet the needs of each species.

We provide climbing structures, shaded areas and nesting spaces allows animals to choose how they use their environment throughout the day.

Health

Our dedicated animal care team closely monitors every animal's health. Preventative healthcare, veterinary support and ongoing welfare assessments help ensure the highest possible standard of care.

Through regular health checks, vaccinations, body conditioning scores and weight monitoring we identify and address potential health concerns early.

Behaviour

Animals are provided with enrichment programs that encourage exploration, problem-solving, social interaction and other natural behaviours.

These activities help keep animals physically active and mentally stimulated.

Providing puzzle feeders and enrichment toys encourage animals to investigate, solve problems and remain engaged with their surroundings.

Mental State

By supporting the first four domains, we aim to create positive experiences that contribute to an animal's overall wellbeing.

Our goal is to promote exceptional, positive welfare through choice, engagement, quality of life so that animal’s forget that they are in a captive environment.

Animals thrive when they can choose where to rest, interact socially, what to eat and participate in enrichment.

We ensure that choice is central to habitat design with our animals responding by displaying positive emotional states such as comfort, curiosity, socialisation and contentment.

The following Six Pillars of Conservation and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are embedded in our everyday practices to create measurable meaningful outcomes for wildlife, people and the environment.