Abstract
Simple SummaryKey aims of the formal inspections of British zoos are to assess compliance with minimum standards of animal welfare and promote improvements in animal care and husbandry. We compared reports from two consecutive inspections of 136 British zoos to see whether these goals were being achieved. Most zoos did not meet all the minimum animal welfare standards and there was no clear evidence of improving levels of compliance with standards associated with the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. The current system of licensing and inspection does not ensure that British zoos meet and maintain, let alone exceed, the minimum animal welfare standards. We analysed two consecutive inspection reports for each of 136 British zoos made by government-appointed inspectors between 2005 and 2011 to assess how well British zoos were complying with minimum animal welfare standards; median interval between inspections was 1,107 days. There was no conclusive evidence for overall improvements in the levels of compliance by British zoos. Having the same zoo inspector at both inspections affected the outcome of an inspection; animal welfare criteria were more likely to be assessed as unchanged if the same inspector was present on both inspections. This, and erratic decisions as to whether a criterion applied to a particular zoo, suggest inconsistency in assessments between inspectors. Zoos that were members of a professional association (BIAZA) did not differ significantly from non-members in the overall number of criteria assessed as substandard at the second inspection but were more likely to meet the standards on both inspections and less likely to have criteria remaining substandard. Lack of consistency between inspectors, and the high proportion of zoos failing to meet minimum animal welfare standards nearly thirty years after the Zoo Licensing Act came into force, suggest that the current system of licensing and inspection is not meeting key objectives and requires revision.
Highlights
While there is intense public interest in the welfare of captive animals, the zoo community has been slow to establish consistent standards for assessing animal welfare [1]
While the British system of zoo inspections has been in place for nearly three decades, the data from these inspections have not been compiled or analysed centrally, and so it is unclear whether the inspection process is monitoring animal welfare standards and/or leading to improvements
We build on an earlier analysis of the zoo inspection process in Britain [4] to see whether formal zoo inspections are leading to higher standards of animal welfare in zoos, a key aspiration of the inspection process [9]
Summary
While there is intense public interest in the welfare of captive animals, the zoo community has been slow to establish consistent standards for assessing animal welfare [1]. ZIs may use the inspection to encourage the zoo to aspire to standards higher than these minimum requirements [12], responsibility for implementing improvements lies with the zoos themselves, not the ZIs. formal inspections represent an opportunity for competent (as decided by the Secretary of State) independent experts to assess zoos and make recommendations on the basis of up-to-date knowledge of animal welfare, legislation and the prevailing standards expected of zoos [4,13]. It has 102 full and provisional members across Britain and Ireland [17] Both the inspection process and membership of BIAZA should lead to animal care and welfare practices that exceed the minimum standards defined for British zoos. We examine whether the type of zoo and membership of BIAZA influence changes in assessments by ZIs, and whether having the same ZI for consecutive inspections influences the outcome of an inspection
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
