Born Free's Zoo Check's New Report Published

Born Free is a great resource for keeping abreast on what's going on with wildlife around the world, both the good and the bad. They share stories of poaching in Africa, stories about the dramatic rescue of a former circus lion now confined to a small cage in a dusty village where he's taunted by locals, and stories about what we can do to help. Born Free's Zoo Check is a wonderful organization that visits zoos around the world and reports back on their conditions which pressures the zoos into making changes. All sentient beings deserve to live quality lives. If we're to keep animals in zoos at all, the facilities must be as close to their natural habitat as possible and they absolutely must be well treated and cared for and provided with the stimulus they would naturally receive in the wild.


Here's Zoo Check latest report. Most zoos with deplorable conditions were found in Europe. Read on to see what they found and what they hope the zoos will change to improve the quality of life for these animals.

The photo and information below is the intellectual property of Born Free and Zoo Check.

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/zoo-check/zoos/eu-zoo-inquiry/

This investigation is part of an extensive EU-wide project that involves 21 EU countries and a total of 200 zoos.

The EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 has been conducted by the Born Free Foundation, in association with the European coalition, ENDCAP. It is an independent study evaluating the implementation and enforcement of the EC Directive 1999/22, relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos, which was fully implemented in EU Member States (25) in 2005 (and 2007 in Bulgaria and Romania). The Directive requires all zoos (as defined) to be licensed and controlled through regular inspection, to ensure they are engaged in activities to conserve biodiversity, educate the public and maintain high standards in animal welfare. The investigation, which has included a review of national law, law enforcement and compliance in a selected number of zoos in 21 EU Member States, has identified inconsistencies in application and substandard conditions in zoos, which is primarily due to a lack of knowledge and training of enforcement personnel and zoo operators to ensure an understanding of the legal requirements of the Directive.

As a result of this work, the European Commission has agreed to provide additional training to veterinarians in fundamental and applied animal welfare science, as well as to meet Born Free’s main request to develop a ‘best practice’ zoo guide to assist Member States and zoo operators to meet the legal requirements. Born Free continues to produce country reports, as a result of the investigations, which will be available online once published.

Fast track to the country reports >

1. Make a donation to our Stop Captive Animal Suffering appeal

2. Sign our letter to the Commissioner for the Environment urging him to study Born Free’s EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 reports and take action for the animals.

3. Contact your MEP and ask them to support higher standards in animal welfare of wild animals in zoos in Europe.

4. Report animal suffering through Travellers Animal Alert

Thank you for caring about the animals. This is their planet, too. 

Animals Matter.