WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING?
Of all the recent efforts to improve the lives of captive primates, the subject of psychological wellbeing has taken the forefront. This subject has become a matter of great debate as there is no definitive answer for either primates or humans. The argument also takes on an ethical approach, for some will argue that if a monkey is not aware of what it is missing, or how it is being deprived, then it remains blissfully ignorant. Does it then suffer? Or does suffering come from awareness of one s existence? One must consider that if the lack of psychological wellbeing causes a monkey to adapt in negative ways to its environment, then it indeed is suffering, whether it contemplates it or not! Since monkeys cannot be asked if they are content or depressed, it is left up to the caretaker to read their behavior and health indicators in order to determine the degree of psychological wellbeing in their animals. Just as the animals they judge are individuals who adapt in their own unique way to
