**3. Zoo and wild animals**

The literature merges concepts and definitions of modern zoos and aquaria as "centers for education and conservation." In this sense, their animals are considered as "ambassador guests" or even stakeholders of the zoological institutions. Husbandry procedures impact directly on the welfare of every managed animal species and should be carried out with "human care" regardless of the context, artificial, semi-natural, or wild; this highlights the importance of precise estimation of the resources provided to the animals, by humans.

But, is this always the case? Advocacy groups often claim that animals would only live a good life "worth living," if they were left into the wild. In reply to this controversy stands the extremely relevant anthropic detrimental influence on the environment and a precise definition of "ex situ" as: "conditions under which individuals are spatially restricted with respect to their natural spatial patterns or those of their progeny, are removed from many of their natural ecological processes and are managed on some level by humans" [33].

**139**

*The Disturbed Habitat and Its Effects on the Animal Population*

and often requiring comparison with their wild counterpart.

This concept has created a lot of confusion in the years, on whether the artificial

environment could really provide excellent welfare conditions, to be evaluated directly on each individual. Welfare indicators in fact, vary among and within species, and depend directly on human interests and uses of them. This is particularly true for nondomestic species where individual case relevance is rare, fragmented,

For this reason, modern zoological institutions tend to mimic the irreplaceable wildlife observations and provide the animals with environmental resources extrapolated from previous *ex situ* experiences and consolidated in best practice guidelines [34]. Careful attention is paid to *animal management processes*, starting from animal acquisition and transport, quarantine and acclimation, and introduction into social group. Exhibits with multiple species must take into consideration social compatibility, both intra and interspecific. The density and distribution of most species should be compatible with the space provided, allowing the expression of natural behaviors and guaranteeing individual safety, thus avoiding **undesired** 

Zoo and aquarium "artificial habitat" construction takes into consideration the preparation of controlled microclimate systems [35]. For example, indoor air temperature, ventilation, and filtered aeration prevent transmission of **respiratory pathogens** (*Aspergillus* spp., *Mycobacterium* spp., etc.) in most air breathing species. Appropriate lighting and photoperiod allow a natural circadian rhythm to regulate hormonal cycles, reproduction, and molt in most species [36]. For aquatic and semi-aquatic species, the installation and management of "Life Support System" provides computerized systems to control filtration, disinfection, and chemical/ physical water parameters suitable for the species maintained. Mechanical filtration removes particulate solid matters and the complex system of biological filtration avoids direct contact with all the toxic compounds originating from nitrogen life cycle. Water temperature control is mandatory since it could literally limit survival of species originating from different climates. Inappropriate levels of pH, salinity, and hardness might lead to **chronic stress** or even death. Water disinfection and oxidation must be under strict control to avoid damages or losses from accidental increased redox potential, lethal for fish and invertebrates, and seriously **damaging** 

Health affects the animal's welfare and the quality of its life. Veterinary programs address general and specific issues such as nutrition, reproduction, and management of geriatric individuals. *Unbalanced diets* can lead, for example, to **abnormal growth, gout,** or **hypovitaminosis**, to even impossibility to thrive [35]. Poor fitness affects breeding and lifespan, but also physical appearance and behavior of the individuals, influencing the human perception of their role for conservation or "ambassadors of the species." Zoos and aquaria maintain animals in good physical, social, and mental health, to fulfill their mission and promote *ex situ* conservation. Wildlife is also strongly influenced by human impact on the environment, only from a different perspective. The correlation between "disturbed habitat" and pathology is in fact not always clear, nor evident for wild animals: disease and death are in fact processes of the normal circle of life, and can be considered as unnatural problems only when caused by human interference. As stated by the World Association of Zoo and Aquaria in Caring for wildlife (2015) [38]: "we affect animals by destroying their habitats, polluting their environment, introducing invasive species into their ecological systems, building structures in flight-paths, tilling the land, cutting trees, driving cars, burning fuel, and on and on...."

An increased food demand, an intensification, and mechanization in agriculture, including use of chemical products, led to a widespread decline in farmland biodiversity and remarkable change of landscapes and habitats. The use of

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84872*

**dominance and aggression** [35].

**skin and eyes** of aquatic reptiles and mammals [37].

*Habitats of the World - Biodiversity and Threats*

distress shown by a higher frequency of gill opercula movements. On the contrary, in case of prolonged mild problems, fishes develop a "chronic gill disease" characterized by a fusion of secondary lamellae [30] and a typical fish silhouette called "snake head shape" due to the contrast between a large and triangular head, deformed for the enlarged opercula, and a thin body. In fact, the low level of oxygen blood saturation causes a growth failure for the inability to optimally metabolize food nutrients. The *housing system* in aquaculture management must take into consideration the different biology, ecology, and natural behaviors of individual fish species. The space, design, composition material for tanks, pools, basins and nets, water source, flow and change, lighting and photoperiod, etc. must be taken into account. An inappropriate housing system determines lower growth performances and a higher incidence of **opportunistic diseases** due to chronic stress [31]. The *degree of social interaction* among fishes, with the main critical point of the animal density, is different in extensive farming when compared to the intensive one: the first is closer to a wild condition while the second is richer of health-limiting conditions. In nature, high animal density happens only for short times (i.e., migration for the reproduction or for feed) but in farmed fishes is a constant need. Over-density causes **traumatic lesions by bite** (skin erosion, ulcers, and body mutilation) (**Figure 4D**) and fast deterioration of water-quality parameters. Similar consequences can be observed as a result of *husbandry practices*, such as selection, artificial reproduction, handling, transport, and net confinement, especially if carried out without suitable tools or by unskilled workers (**Figure 4E**). **Infections** caused by opportunistic bacteria or fungi (Oomycetes) such as *Flavobacterium* spp., *Columnaris* disease (fin or skin rot), or *Saprolegnia* spp. (water mold infection) can develop into skin or gill injuries (**Figure 4F**). Sometimes, if fish density is high and the water quality and exchange low, **parasites** such as barnacles or motile ciliates can also provoke a massive outbreak with evident skin hemorrhages and erosions. At the same time, also common aquatic bacteria such as motile *Aeromonas* spp*., Pseudomonas* spp., or *Vibrio* spp. can cause septicaemia characterized by skin, gills, and internal organ hemorrhages, pop eyes, and skin ulcerations. Regarding feeding, as fish are ectothermic, periods of food deprivation may be less detrimental than in endotherms. For this reason, temporary starvation prior to transport, treatment of disease, or any other kind of handling procedures is highly recommended to reduce physiological stress [27]. However, an inappropriate food composition or feeding procedure can generate **gut problems** like enteritis and **size inhomogeneity** in the fish stock [32].

The literature merges concepts and definitions of modern zoos and aquaria as "centers for education and conservation." In this sense, their animals are considered as "ambassador guests" or even stakeholders of the zoological institutions. Husbandry procedures impact directly on the welfare of every managed animal species and should be carried out with "human care" regardless of the context, artificial, semi-natural, or wild; this highlights the importance of precise estimation

But, is this always the case? Advocacy groups often claim that animals would only live a good life "worth living," if they were left into the wild. In reply to this controversy stands the extremely relevant anthropic detrimental influence on the environment and a precise definition of "ex situ" as: "conditions under which individuals are spatially restricted with respect to their natural spatial patterns or those of their progeny, are removed from many of their natural ecological processes

**138**

**3. Zoo and wild animals**

of the resources provided to the animals, by humans.

and are managed on some level by humans" [33].

This concept has created a lot of confusion in the years, on whether the artificial environment could really provide excellent welfare conditions, to be evaluated directly on each individual. Welfare indicators in fact, vary among and within species, and depend directly on human interests and uses of them. This is particularly true for nondomestic species where individual case relevance is rare, fragmented, and often requiring comparison with their wild counterpart.

For this reason, modern zoological institutions tend to mimic the irreplaceable wildlife observations and provide the animals with environmental resources extrapolated from previous *ex situ* experiences and consolidated in best practice guidelines [34]. Careful attention is paid to *animal management processes*, starting from animal acquisition and transport, quarantine and acclimation, and introduction into social group. Exhibits with multiple species must take into consideration social compatibility, both intra and interspecific. The density and distribution of most species should be compatible with the space provided, allowing the expression of natural behaviors and guaranteeing individual safety, thus avoiding **undesired dominance and aggression** [35].

Zoo and aquarium "artificial habitat" construction takes into consideration the preparation of controlled microclimate systems [35]. For example, indoor air temperature, ventilation, and filtered aeration prevent transmission of **respiratory pathogens** (*Aspergillus* spp., *Mycobacterium* spp., etc.) in most air breathing species. Appropriate lighting and photoperiod allow a natural circadian rhythm to regulate hormonal cycles, reproduction, and molt in most species [36]. For aquatic and semi-aquatic species, the installation and management of "Life Support System" provides computerized systems to control filtration, disinfection, and chemical/ physical water parameters suitable for the species maintained. Mechanical filtration removes particulate solid matters and the complex system of biological filtration avoids direct contact with all the toxic compounds originating from nitrogen life cycle. Water temperature control is mandatory since it could literally limit survival of species originating from different climates. Inappropriate levels of pH, salinity, and hardness might lead to **chronic stress** or even death. Water disinfection and oxidation must be under strict control to avoid damages or losses from accidental increased redox potential, lethal for fish and invertebrates, and seriously **damaging skin and eyes** of aquatic reptiles and mammals [37].

Health affects the animal's welfare and the quality of its life. Veterinary programs address general and specific issues such as nutrition, reproduction, and management of geriatric individuals. *Unbalanced diets* can lead, for example, to **abnormal growth, gout,** or **hypovitaminosis**, to even impossibility to thrive [35]. Poor fitness affects breeding and lifespan, but also physical appearance and behavior of the individuals, influencing the human perception of their role for conservation or "ambassadors of the species." Zoos and aquaria maintain animals in good physical, social, and mental health, to fulfill their mission and promote *ex situ* conservation.

Wildlife is also strongly influenced by human impact on the environment, only from a different perspective. The correlation between "disturbed habitat" and pathology is in fact not always clear, nor evident for wild animals: disease and death are in fact processes of the normal circle of life, and can be considered as unnatural problems only when caused by human interference. As stated by the World Association of Zoo and Aquaria in Caring for wildlife (2015) [38]: "we affect animals by destroying their habitats, polluting their environment, introducing invasive species into their ecological systems, building structures in flight-paths, tilling the land, cutting trees, driving cars, burning fuel, and on and on...."

An increased food demand, an intensification, and mechanization in agriculture, including use of chemical products, led to a widespread decline in farmland biodiversity and remarkable change of landscapes and habitats. The use of

pesticides facilitates farmers' work, thus menaces the environment and its living creatures. In the European rice fields, the butterfly *Lycaena dispar*, an important environmental indicator, is in decline due to the massive use of herbicides; and similar events occurred in Japan as well [39]. "The European Red List of Saproxylic Beetles" (2018) [40] highlights the importance of these beetles in the forest ecosystems and their dependence on dead and decaying wood. They are involved in numerous processes but often ruined by the wrong perception that deadwood is a sign of neglected forest management.

The effects of climate warming are recognized by everyone and lead to desertification in many countries, provoke unprecedented disastrous events, and affect ecosystems and species survival around the world, including our own. Glaciers melting at an increasing speed directly affect polar bears (*Ursus maritimus*) and Arctic environment, leading to disappearance of their habitat and food resources.

Invasive species became a very relevant problem [41]: the gray squirrel (*Sciurus carolinensis*), introduced in the last century in Europe, is a threat to the native red squirrel (*S. vulgaris*). Gray squirrels compete for resources and, in Britain, are a reservoir for a virus highly pathogenic for red squirrel, inducing a disease-mediated competition between the species. Other countries could face the same problem in future: in Japan, *S. vulgaris* is a common pet with high risk of uncontrolled release and impact on the native *S. lis* [42]. The introduction of the popular American pet red-eared slider caused similar threats imposing major conservation activities to preserve the native European pond turtle [43].

Artificial lights can affect plant's photosynthesis, circadian rhythm, visual perception, and spatial orientation and can disorient many nocturnal species. Preys around lamps attract bats that also become more detectable by birds of prey. New road constructions are welcomed with enthusiasm, but they fragment habitats and represent insuperable dangerous barriers for crossing animals.

Coexistence between domestic and wild species can spread **transmissible diseases**. Infectious keratoconjunctivitis originates from infected livestock and passes to alpine chamois (*Rupicapra rupicapra*) and alpine ibex (*Capra ibex*) that graze close to each other. Another type of challenge is represented by the return of wolves in the Alps, since farmers do not tolerate their predation on livestock. The authorities promote preventive measures and compensation for the damage, but the conflict is strongly due.

Overexploitation of natural resources is a worldwide-recognized problem and animal collectors have a huge impact on biodiversity. Oriental medicine utilizes parts of wild animals (tigers, rhinos, sharks, seahorses, etc.). The indiscriminate fishing of the totoaba, a very popular fish, whose swim bladder represents an unremarkable black market value, has brought the small cetacean vaquita on the verge of extinction.

Finally, in the last decades, humans developed new types of sports and touristic attractions with animal direct contact and experience. As an example, ski mountaineering, a dangerous and exciting popular sport in the Alps, can be lethal for alpine animals, such as the black grouse (*Tetrao tetrix*) or rock ptarmigan (*Lagopus muta*). Photo safaris and the desire to "get closer" to wilderness, at all costs, are a growing "leisure product" which is very disgraceful to nature.

### **4. Conclusion**

In 1915, Cannon defined stress as a "perturbation of the homeostasis, the coordinated physiological process which maintains a steady state in the organism" [44]. A persistent stress condition may result in psychological and physiological pathology.

**141**

*The Disturbed Habitat and Its Effects on the Animal Population*

From the perspective of domestic/wild animals, these pathologies may occur at a clinical or subclinical level and may manifest as altered behavior, decreased immune protection that impacts disease susceptibility, or altered metabolism that

This chapter represents a non-exhaustive list including only a few examples of scientific evidence that farm animals or wildlife face multiple threats related to stressing factors/habitat disturbance, by direct or indirect human impact on the environment. While it is clear that we have been the major cause of these dramatic changes, we are also growing a generalized protective conscience towards natural resources. A virtuous search for new technologies and alternative human behavioral changes is now mandatory to minimize our impact and foster our survival on this

In this contest, animal welfare relates to more than merely the physical health of an individual. Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives [47]. An animal is in a good state of welfare if it is in an appropriate social context, healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behavior, and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress. Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, humane handling and, ultimately, humane slaughter. Animal welfare refers to the state of the animal and protecting

In recent years, a great and growing attention is paid to the aspects of health and welfare of reared animal species. For farm animals, the initiative of people to care about the welfare of farm animals is based on their moral attitude and concern for the right and wrong treatment of animals, with presumed opposition to overexploitation and/or cruelty towards animals [48]. There is also growing concern for many consumers in Europe about farm animal welfare since it is becoming increasingly recognized as an important attribute of food safety and quality [48, 49]. To enhance animal welfare, a first essential step is to help animals to cope with their environment. Two different approaches can be used: firstly we propose to adapt the environment to the animals by improving management practices and housing conditions. This approach requires the active involvement of all stakeholders: veterinarians, behaviorists, animal scientists, the industrial farming sector, the food processing and supply chain, and consumers of animal-derived products. Secondly, we can create rearing conditions that better "prepare" animals for the environment

Also for zoo animals, as habitats and ecosystems become increasingly altered and populations evermore impacted by human activities, a growing number of species will require some form of management of both individuals and populations to ensure their survival. Zoo and aquaria aim to fulfill this role. Whereas zoos and aquariums of the past were places where animals were "displayed" for the pleasure of visitors, today's zoos and aquariums are centers for conservation. They must ensure that the conditions for animals in their care are the best that can be delivered, providing environments that focus on the animals' physical and behavioral needs. To accomplish this, it is necessary to make sure that animal care staff have relevant scientific training and expertise, developing and maintaining a staff culture that practices regular reporting and monitoring of animals' behavior and health, employing veterinarians, biologists, welfare scientists, and behavioral experts, introducing different enrichments that provide challenges, choices, and comfort to animals to maximize their psychological health. In fact, the major features of animal welfare that are relevant to zoos and aquariums merge the following aspects: meeting animals' basic survival needs for food, shelter, health, and safety and enhance their welfare above this survival minimum by increasing opportunities

impacts either growth, production, or a combination of these responses.

an animal's welfare means providing for its physical and mental needs [8].

in which they will be kept in later stages of their life.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84872*

planet [45, 46].

#### *The Disturbed Habitat and Its Effects on the Animal Population DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84872*

*Habitats of the World - Biodiversity and Threats*

sign of neglected forest management.

preserve the native European pond turtle [43].

conflict is strongly due.

verge of extinction.

**4. Conclusion**

represent insuperable dangerous barriers for crossing animals.

growing "leisure product" which is very disgraceful to nature.

pesticides facilitates farmers' work, thus menaces the environment and its living creatures. In the European rice fields, the butterfly *Lycaena dispar*, an important environmental indicator, is in decline due to the massive use of herbicides; and similar events occurred in Japan as well [39]. "The European Red List of Saproxylic Beetles" (2018) [40] highlights the importance of these beetles in the forest ecosystems and their dependence on dead and decaying wood. They are involved in numerous processes but often ruined by the wrong perception that deadwood is a

The effects of climate warming are recognized by everyone and lead to desertification in many countries, provoke unprecedented disastrous events, and affect ecosystems and species survival around the world, including our own. Glaciers melting at an increasing speed directly affect polar bears (*Ursus maritimus*) and Arctic environment, leading to disappearance of their habitat and food resources. Invasive species became a very relevant problem [41]: the gray squirrel (*Sciurus carolinensis*), introduced in the last century in Europe, is a threat to the native red squirrel (*S. vulgaris*). Gray squirrels compete for resources and, in Britain, are a reservoir for a virus highly pathogenic for red squirrel, inducing a disease-mediated competition between the species. Other countries could face the same problem in future: in Japan, *S. vulgaris* is a common pet with high risk of uncontrolled release and impact on the native *S. lis* [42]. The introduction of the popular American pet red-eared slider caused similar threats imposing major conservation activities to

Artificial lights can affect plant's photosynthesis, circadian rhythm, visual perception, and spatial orientation and can disorient many nocturnal species. Preys around lamps attract bats that also become more detectable by birds of prey. New road constructions are welcomed with enthusiasm, but they fragment habitats and

Coexistence between domestic and wild species can spread **transmissible diseases**. Infectious keratoconjunctivitis originates from infected livestock and passes to alpine chamois (*Rupicapra rupicapra*) and alpine ibex (*Capra ibex*) that graze close to each other. Another type of challenge is represented by the return of wolves in the Alps, since farmers do not tolerate their predation on livestock. The authorities promote preventive measures and compensation for the damage, but the

Overexploitation of natural resources is a worldwide-recognized problem and animal collectors have a huge impact on biodiversity. Oriental medicine utilizes parts of wild animals (tigers, rhinos, sharks, seahorses, etc.). The indiscriminate fishing of the totoaba, a very popular fish, whose swim bladder represents an unremarkable black market value, has brought the small cetacean vaquita on the

Finally, in the last decades, humans developed new types of sports and touristic attractions with animal direct contact and experience. As an example, ski mountaineering, a dangerous and exciting popular sport in the Alps, can be lethal for alpine animals, such as the black grouse (*Tetrao tetrix*) or rock ptarmigan (*Lagopus muta*). Photo safaris and the desire to "get closer" to wilderness, at all costs, are a

In 1915, Cannon defined stress as a "perturbation of the homeostasis, the coordinated physiological process which maintains a steady state in the organism" [44]. A persistent stress condition may result in psychological and physiological pathology.

**140**

From the perspective of domestic/wild animals, these pathologies may occur at a clinical or subclinical level and may manifest as altered behavior, decreased immune protection that impacts disease susceptibility, or altered metabolism that impacts either growth, production, or a combination of these responses.

This chapter represents a non-exhaustive list including only a few examples of scientific evidence that farm animals or wildlife face multiple threats related to stressing factors/habitat disturbance, by direct or indirect human impact on the environment. While it is clear that we have been the major cause of these dramatic changes, we are also growing a generalized protective conscience towards natural resources. A virtuous search for new technologies and alternative human behavioral changes is now mandatory to minimize our impact and foster our survival on this planet [45, 46].

In this contest, animal welfare relates to more than merely the physical health of an individual. Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives [47]. An animal is in a good state of welfare if it is in an appropriate social context, healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behavior, and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress. Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, humane handling and, ultimately, humane slaughter. Animal welfare refers to the state of the animal and protecting an animal's welfare means providing for its physical and mental needs [8].

In recent years, a great and growing attention is paid to the aspects of health and welfare of reared animal species. For farm animals, the initiative of people to care about the welfare of farm animals is based on their moral attitude and concern for the right and wrong treatment of animals, with presumed opposition to overexploitation and/or cruelty towards animals [48]. There is also growing concern for many consumers in Europe about farm animal welfare since it is becoming increasingly recognized as an important attribute of food safety and quality [48, 49]. To enhance animal welfare, a first essential step is to help animals to cope with their environment. Two different approaches can be used: firstly we propose to adapt the environment to the animals by improving management practices and housing conditions. This approach requires the active involvement of all stakeholders: veterinarians, behaviorists, animal scientists, the industrial farming sector, the food processing and supply chain, and consumers of animal-derived products. Secondly, we can create rearing conditions that better "prepare" animals for the environment in which they will be kept in later stages of their life.

Also for zoo animals, as habitats and ecosystems become increasingly altered and populations evermore impacted by human activities, a growing number of species will require some form of management of both individuals and populations to ensure their survival. Zoo and aquaria aim to fulfill this role. Whereas zoos and aquariums of the past were places where animals were "displayed" for the pleasure of visitors, today's zoos and aquariums are centers for conservation. They must ensure that the conditions for animals in their care are the best that can be delivered, providing environments that focus on the animals' physical and behavioral needs. To accomplish this, it is necessary to make sure that animal care staff have relevant scientific training and expertise, developing and maintaining a staff culture that practices regular reporting and monitoring of animals' behavior and health, employing veterinarians, biologists, welfare scientists, and behavioral experts, introducing different enrichments that provide challenges, choices, and comfort to animals to maximize their psychological health. In fact, the major features of animal welfare that are relevant to zoos and aquariums merge the following aspects: meeting animals' basic survival needs for food, shelter, health, and safety and enhance their welfare above this survival minimum by increasing opportunities for animals to have positive experiences, focused, for example, on their comfort, pleasure, interest, and confidence. Although visitors' direct impact on animal welfare is limited, their expectations have risen sharply and support the zoo and aquarium commitment to keep animals healthy and engaged, by also utilizing environmental enrichment skills [38].

To conclude, considering the enormous number of animals whose life conditions are affected by human habits, all possible efforts can and must be made to improve their status in order to ban welfare-compromising procedures and practices as soon as possible.
