One step closer to welfare accreditation in Southeast Asian zoos
The Wild Welfare team has been in Vietnam, moving forward plans which are aimed at improving welfare standards in zoos across Southeast Asia.
Meeting with zoo staff from zoos belonging to the Southeast Asian Zoos and Aquariums Association (SEAZA), our team carried out a two-day animal welfare assessment workshop as part of our ongoing commitment to improve welfare across the SEAZA membership.
The SEAZA membership encompasses a diverse group of zoos and aquariums and to address the variation in welfare standards across their more than 50 members and bring about improvements, they have created their first ever welfare-based certification programme.
The workshop saw attendees from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, come together to learn about what the welfare programme looks like, and how it can be rolled out to SEAZA members and non-members in order to achieve more positive animal welfare in zoos and aquariums across the region.
Wild Welfare’s field director, Dave Morgan, said: “This latest meeting was a great opportunity to really move things forward in terms of putting animal welfare top of the agenda in SEAZA zoos and aquariums.
“We see a huge amount of variability in zoo standards across the Southeast Asian region and we do see practices that can have a detrimental impact on animal welfare. SEAZA is taking a really positive step for its current and future members by adopting a certification process that’s based around best practice for animal care, and shows just how important good animal welfare is.”
The two days of training was focussed around SEAZA’s own welfare standard and included presentations on how to carry out a welfare assessment using the standard, how to raise concerns when they are found and how to suggest areas for improvement.
“Workshop attendees were all very enthusiastic about the new process and had lots of ideas for how it could best be implemented. It was a huge pleasure to work with such a willing and engaged group of people and I think we can feel very positive about future welfare standards across the SEAZA network,” Mr Morgan added.
Many regional zoo associations already have some form of certification or accreditation programme to support and ensure best practice occurs within its membership, including animal welfare. A good programme raises standards of animal welfare and care, as members must meet best practice guidelines.
Our team will be attending the SEAZA annual conference in October and we look forward to bringing you more updates on the progress of the welfare certification programme then.
Wild Welfare would like to thank Wildlife Reserves Singapore1, whose funding is helping support our work with SEAZA on this project.Thanks go to the Mango Garden Resort, in the south of Vietnam, who kindly hosted the workshop.
~ENDS~
Notes to Editors
Wildlife Reserves Singapore is dedicated to the management of world-leading zoological institutions – Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo – that aim to inspire people to value and conserve biodiversity by providing meaningful and memorable wildlife experiences. A self-funded organisation, WRS focuses on protecting biodiversity in Singapore and Southeast Asia through collaborations with like-minded partners, organisations and institutions. Each year, the four attractions welcome 4.6 million visitors.
For more information or interview requests please contact Wild Welfare on communications@wildwelfare.org
Wild Welfare is a global organisation committed to improving animal welfare for captive wild animals. By uniting the world’s leading zoos, zoo associations and animal welfare organisations, we build trusting partnerships that help provide long-term solutions to critical wild animal welfare issues.
Our vision is to end the suffering of captive wild animals around the world and ensure full and sustainable protection is given to all animals in human care. Find out more at www.wildwelfare.org. Registered charity in England (no.1165941).
