This dataset contains responses from 254 children and adolescents (ages 7–18) who visited a zoo and completed a survey assessing their perceptions of animal welfare, emotional responses, and animal needs. Each row corresponds to one enclosure observed by a child and includes variables such as emotion valence, welfare perception, and environmental evaluations. The survey covered six species: capuchin monkeys, macaws, broad-snouted caiman, Chilean frog, cardinal tetra fish, and Indian ornamental tree spider. The dataset supports the article "How happy do these animals look?: Exploring Factors Influencing Children’s Perceptions of Animal Welfare at the Zoo" and is intended to facilitate further research on human-animal interaction, empathy, and zoo education.