Research overview: welfare of lions and big cats in safari parks and drive-through enclosures

Safari parks house big cats, especially lions, in large drive-through enclosures that visitors traverse by vehicle, a model with distinctive welfare features. This overview surveys the welfare considerations of such settings: the benefits of larger, more naturalistic group spaces for social species like lions, the effects of constant vehicle traffic as a potential stressor or neutral background, provision of shelter, vegetation and retreat from vehicles, and management of large social groups. It examines how space and complexity in safari settings can support natural behaviour, alongside concerns about vehicle disturbance, surplus animals and breeding management. It discusses comparisons with traditional exhibits. The synthesis frames safari-park husbandry as offering space advantages for some species while raising its own questions about traffic-related disturbance and population management.