UK zoos not meeting animal welfare standards
Researchers from the University of Bristol and the Born Free Foundation (BFF) recently carried out a study to assess whether or not mandatory zoo inspections in the UK are ensuring minimum animal welfare standards are met.
The study analysed inspection reports completed by government-appointed inspectors at 136 licensed zoos across Britain between 2005 and 2011.
All zoos in Britain are licensed under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, which requires them to meet minimum standards including those relating to animal welfare, conservation and education.
Zoos are inspected every three to four years to assess whether they are complying with these standards.
One of the key findings of the study, which has been published in the journal Animals, was that only 22 of 136 zoos were assessed as meeting all the animal welfare standards at consecutive inspections.
Overall, there was no conclusive evidence suggesting that there was an overall improvement in levels of compliance by British zoos over the same period.
The researchers concluded that the data suggest that animal welfare in British zoos may not necessarily improve following inspection and may even decline in some cases.
Will Travers OBE, CEO of the Born Free Foundation said: “It is very concerning to see the range of problems that still afflict British zoos and their animals, and to discover that so many are failing to meet, let alone exceed, minimum animal welfare standards.”
The foundation is calling on the government-appointed Zoos Expert Committee and the relevant licencing authorities in England, Wales and Scotland to consider this new evidence and bring forward urgent new measures to ensure that all licensed zoos are meeting their moral and legal obligations.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
