Brown Bear Exhibit

This wouldnt be too bad if they just tore up that concrete and replaced it with natural substrate/planting.

@DelacoursLangur Right, the contrast with Hangzhou is notable, even though Shanghai is generally thought to be the better zoo.

@FunkyGibbon Interesting, im not too familiar in Chinese zoos so im learning alot. I never got the constant bashing of any and all grotto style exhibits on zoochat. Sure they arnt exactly modern, but many of them are the same size or larger than many new exhibits, and would work be just fine with natural substrate. Plus you just dont get the same weathered rockwork in modern exhibits anymore.

@DelacoursLangur: Grottoes are often surrounded by visitors (as here) and put the animals below visitors, stressing the inhabitants and giving guests a sense of dominion. As FG points out, that also exacerbates visitor feeding in Chinese zoos. And size is absolutely an issue here. Watch bears in large, complex exhibits (e.g. Wiesbaden, Ostrava or Highland Wildlife Park) and they're different animals. Even with minor upgrades, and with the exception of elderly/invalid animals, conditions like this are inhumane.

@Giant Panda By that standard you can only consider a very small handful of the worlds exhibits "humane". With all due respect that is a ridiculous standard that even world class facilities cannot live up to owing to space. It is hard for me to gauge the exact size here but it seems to be quite a large grotto extending off to the left. With some natural substrate and some more features I dont see why this cant match the standard of 90% of western zoos.

@DelacoursLangur: It's irrelevant whether 90%(?) of western zoos keep bears like this. Welfare arises from animals and their needs, not zoos and their current set-ups. And meeting your definition of "world class" (whatever it is) clearly doesn't mean every animal in the facility has good welfare. Bears, in particular, are regularly shafted. "More features" and "natural substrate" (which this rock appears to be btw) may improve this exhibit, but wouldn't remotely satisfy bears' behavioural or psychological requirements.

That said, two points we can perhaps agree on. First, we should call out animal welfare issues in western zoos as well, which I do. I don't accept, though, that China's welfare standards come close to any western countries (or many eastern ones for that matter). The PRC's complete lack of national animal welfare legislation is revolting. Second, I listed some of the best bear exhibits, but many zoos with less impressive facilities maintain good standards as well. Shanghai does not.

@Giant Panda The 90% was a generalization based off of my own experience. I guess we just have different ideas of what is inhumane. By natural substrate I am referring to dirt and grass, stuff bears can role in and isn't hard and cold like concrete or rock. Of course I appreciate a large naturalistic enclosure, but there are more important factors than just size, especially because captive animals tend to be quite sedentary. I would rank proper indoor housing, proper diet, pools to cool off in, places to get away from being viewed, and stuff to climb to name a few. With this in mind I dont see why a large grotto like this couldn't be renovated to serve these needs.

I think with your high expectations you will never find a single zoo which lives up to your standards. I am a realist, and while of course I appreciate a large exhibit with natural woodland, shunning all other exhibits as inhumane is counterproductive if we want to raise the standards of zoos worldwide.

@DelacoursLangur: Soft substrates? And "captive animals tend to be quite sedentary" is nonsense; some are and some aren't. In the case of brown bears, often they're inactive (or stereotyping) because they're in exhibits like this, which don't allow natural behaviours to be expressed. Again, you only have to see them in larger areas to see the difference. Whilst size is not the only factor, it facilitates several others you list. The larger the exhibit, the more complex it can be.

Also, this is not unrealistic. I already listed several exhibits that do exceed my standards and alluded to many others. To name a few, I enjoy watching bears at Zurich, Heidelberg, Burgers', Chester, Woodland Park, Oakland, and Perth (none of which have vast tracts of forest). Calling out crappy grottoes is not only productive, it's imperative to improve standards.

@Giant Panda Soft substrates as in dirt, soil, compost, stuff they can roll in, rather than concrete. I think there is a difference between calling for higher standards and setting unrealistic ones. One is to shun all but the highest of standards, and the other is propose gradual changes which will greatly improve the animals quality of life. My original statement was "This wouldn't be too bad if they tore up the concrete". Im not saying that it will suddenly be a top notch exhibit, but with a little bit of refurbishment the animals quality of life can be greatly improved.