Accreditation summary

Revised Summary of Accreditation and similar documents from WAZA Regional Zoo Associations (5 October 2012) Note: For the version with full documents, please request sallyrwalker@zooreach.org. In this summary, some of the associations with the most detailed documentation may have the shortest descriptions unless they sent a summary themselves. Others, that do not have a detailed process, have a longer description. Regions not replied will continue to be reminded to send their material to WAZA Associations Chair. Submitted by SRW. Regions not replied AFDPZ (Association Française des Parcs Zoologiques) AIZA (Iberian Association of Zoos & Aquaria) AZCARM (Asociacion de Zoologicos, Criaderos y Acuarios de Mexico AC) DAZA (Danish Zoological Gardens & Aquaria) DWV (Deutscher-Wildgehege-Verband e.V.), Tiergarten Sababurg SAZA-SDF (Swedish Association of Zoological Parks & Aquaria) SNDPZ (Société Nationale des Parcs Zoologiques) UIZA (Italian Union of Zoos & Aquaria) SEAZA South East Asian Zoo Association SEAZA did not reply. The following is through personal knowledge and research.

Virtually all South East Asian countries and even some East Asian zoos are members of the South East Asian Zoo Association (SEAZA). In the absence of viable legislation and standards in some countries, the association’s attempts to raise the standards of South East Asian Zoos is significant.

Given the differences between countries and their priorities, a crucial tool for South East Asian Zoos is their Association, now ten years old and very well established, SEAZA has drawn up feasible standards for captive wild animal keeping and care and instituted a procedure for inspections which works for this region.

SEAZA standards are included as part of the SEAZA Constitution which can be accessed at the SEAZA website http://www.seaza.org and in the Annex in this document. SEAZA has an inspection committee which assesses selected zoos and offers advice and help. SEAZA has standards, guidelines, ethics, etc. in their association. Over 28 zoos have been assessed in recent years: e.g. 17 zoos in Indonesia, 9 in Thailand, 5 in Malaysia, 11 in Taiwan, 5 in Philippines and 3 in Singapore. Now, SEAZA is considering a “world class accreditation system” which will be discussed at their upcoming conference.

Zoos responding to request for Accreditation policies and documents requested by WAZA Council Member ACOPAZOA, Colombian Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Mrs. Carolina Falla, Executive Director, <acopazoa@gmail.com>. The ACOPAZOA minimum standards (in Spanish) are the base to evaluate the zoos in Colombia. ACOPAZOA doesn’t have an accreditation process, but plans to have it soon. They have a Collection Committee and are working to establish cooperative management of endangered species. A training in October 2012 in SPARKS and PM2000 will help perform this task.

African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZAB). Dr Stephen van der Spuy, Chair, <stephen@nzg.ac.za>. Dr. van der Spuy has attached the following documents of PAAZAB’s Accreditation credentials: 1. PAAZAB Operational Standard. OPERATIONAL STANDARD. The PAAZAB Operational Standard is new to the members and they have a couple of years to comply with the standard. All new members have to automatically comply with the Operational Standard.

2. PAAZAB Accreditation Standard. The Accreditation Standard is voluntary to the members who wish to go the extra mile with regards to Operational excellence. Complying to this standard means that you will have the prestigious accredited title.

3. African Preservation Programme. This forms the framework for co-operative breeding programmes in Africa ALPZA, Asociación Latinoamericana de Parques Zoológicos y Acuarios, Andrea Caiozzi, Directora Ejecutiva ALPZA is preparing its draft of the Accreditation guidelines. Therefore, so far we still do not have an accreditation proccess for our members, but the idea is to start on 2013. This is our number 1 priority since 2010 planning meeting in Chile. Unfortunately, the documents are in a very unfinished state, so we cannot share them now, but we will be able to share them in the future.

They are based in the AZCARM (Mexican Assoc) accreditation criteria, and our Accreditation Commitee is constituted by many people that have an active participation in the AZCARM accreditation group. Right now, an applicant to become a member has the following requirements: To start the application process it is required: 1. Complete the information in the online form found at : http://www.alpza.com/eng/membresia.php. Please complete the information as an Institutional Member.

2. Attach to your Institution’s application two (2) letters of reference/recommendation from directors or presidents of Institutions that are already members of ALPZA. These letters must be sent by email directly from the senders to direccion@alpza.com.

3. Attach information certifying that the institution is properly created and have all the legal paperwork up to date with the relevant environmental agency from the country's governement.

4. After receiving this documentation, we will send a communication about your application status, and a bill for the value of the annual membership and registration.

Our future accreditation program will be optional for members (at least for the first years), but strongly recommended.

AMACZOOA (Mesoamerican & Caribbean Zoos & Aquaria Association, Yolanda Matamoros, info@fundazoo.org What we did in AMACZOOA was to establish minimal requirements for the zoos and give them three years to work on them. When we can obtain funding we hope to make an evaluation of every institution to know if they have implemented the minimal requirements.

AZA, Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Kris Vehrs, Chair AZA has a detailed and updated 2012 Guide to Accreditation of Zoological Parks and Aquariums and an updated 2012 accreditation standards and related policies. AZA has created a Power Point of over 100 slides in two parts entitled Part 1: Accreditation A Thru Z for Institutions and Inspectors, (pp. 77) and Part 2: The Standards (pp. 43) BIAZA, British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Miranda Stevenson, Chair, admin@biaza.org.uk On application a zoo has to fill in detailed form and be inspected by two members who have to fill in a report and send to the BIAZA Membership and Licensing Committee. If not sufficient on entry there is a mentoring system which gives a maximum of three years to achieve mandatory standards. For existing members licensing reports (every three years) are reviewed by M&LC. If there are problems with a member, people go out to advise as another mentoring system. Those that do not have an inspection system (Isle of Man and Channel Islands) have full BIAZA inspection which is based on Zoo Licensing Inspection and Secretary of States’ Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. Zoos applying must agree 1.to allow the premises to inspected by BIAZA under the same conditions as the inspection under the Zoo Licensing Act. For collections outside the jurisdiction of the ZLA and Irish Zoo Legislation initial inspections are charged at cost.

Collections accepted for provisional membership will be inspected by the mentoring organisation and, if possible, a member of the BIAZA staff.2. to pay BIAZA such fees as may be determined for each such inspection, 3. to make available to BIAZA such information as may be required to calculate the annual subscription for membership.

CAZA, Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums, CAZA has a detailed and up to date (2010) Accreditation Process Guide and CAZA Accreditation Standards. The standards are formatted to follow an application/questionnaire and Inspection form. Peer review, by both the Visiting Committee and the Accreditation Commission, will continue to allow certain levels of subjectivity.

DTG, Deutsche Tierpark-Gesellschaft e.V.), Chair, Mr. Gert Emmrich DTG has adopted guidelines for the membership in April 2008. Some requirements are defined, the most important beeing that the applicant zoo has been granted a license under the European Zoos Directive 199/22/EC. New members have to be elected by the simple majority of the general assembly. Prior to the election the applicant facility is visited by members of the executive board, which report to the general assembly and give a recommendation. In difficult cases membership can once be granted as a temporary one for three years with an option to upgrade to ordinary membership (or not). I send the guidelines as an attachement in German language. Unfortunately, we do not have one in English so far. Submitted by Andreas Filz, EAZA, European Association of Zoos & Aquaria. Dr. Lesley Dickie, Chair lesley.dickie@eaza.net. EAZA has a virtual plethora of documents for their Accreditation Programme, including an Accreditation Manual from which the following was taken. In 1988 a number of European zoos overcame political barriers, joining forces to establish the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). EAZA represents and links European zoos and aquaria in order to maintain and increase the standards of these institutions. EAZA membership will only be awarded to zoos and aquaria that meet EAZA’s standards and obligations. In addition to minimum standards, EAZA has developed a ‘Code of Practice’ and a ‘Code of Ethics’. Over the years, policies and standards are updated and refined as the needs for conservation change and the underlying philosophies become further defined. EAZA has developed its own accreditation and inspection system, to ensure that only zoological institutions and organisations that meet and comply with EAZA’s codes and standards can join the organisation. The EAZA Accreditation Programme (EAP) offers a framework for assisting zoos and aquaria to achieve their aims, and an opportunity for independent review and validation of their efforts and achievements. The manual has been developed to serve as a guide for any person or institution that is interested or involved in the EAZA accreditation procedure.Chapter 1 describes the accreditation procedure and the steps involved for new applicants, temporary members, existing members. Chapter 2 of this manual describes the obligations of the applicant and chapter 3 deals with guidelines for an EAZA screening team.

EARAZA, Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Dr. Vladimir Spitsin, Chair, vvspitsin@mail.ru In accordance with the EARAZA Constitution, before submitting the application for joining EARAZA, a zoo, aquarium or other zoological institution has to submit the Accreditation Questionnaire to the EARAZA Presidium. The Questionnaire was developed based on the respective EAZA questionnaire and contains questions that give the most detailed description of the main areas of focus of the institution's activities.

Upon the receipt of the Questionnaire, the Presidium assigns two experts in order to evaluate the work of the institution, while the institution is responsible for the expenses incurred in the visit of the experts. Repeated inspection visits are conducted as required, based on the decisions of the EARAZA Annual Conference. Expert evaluations of the EARAZA member institutions' activities are carried out in the most objective manner, with full consideration given to the economic and financial situation in the respective region, which all zoos depend on in regard to their respective situations.

Due to many political, administrative and other reasons typical for the zoos of this region, it is very difficult for us to make regional zoos comply to the requirements of any rigorous animal acquisition/disposition policy, but we are trying to establish some regulations applicable to endangered species; thus, such a policy has been formulated and is followed by regional zoos participating in the EARAZA/EEP programs for Amur tiger and Far Eastern leopard, and we are planning to extend it to more programs.

JAZA, Japanese Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Kazutoshi Arai, azutoshi_arai@granvista.co.jp, kanako@jaza.jp JAZA has a 24 page Japanese document which will be translated in due course. The document is available in Japanese in the non-summary collection of documents on accreditation.

SAZARC. South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation. Sally R. Walker, Chair sallyrwalker@zooreach.org. SAZARC does not have an accreditation system but the membership overwhelmingly adopted the WAZA Minimum Standards inspection document as an interim measure for immediate guidance. SAZARC is unlikely to develop a full accredition system due to the way things work in South Asia. India was the first country to adopt comprehensive zoo legislation in 1991 and in 1992, the government accepted the “Norms and Standards” as the standard for Indian Zoos. This document is also official legisation. Zoo legislation is the most practical and effective means of bringing organization and discipline to the zoos of South Asia, and SAZARC encourages it. So far two countries have formulated zoo legislation using the India model.

They have been reviewed, revised and again reviewed and are likely to be accepted by their respective Parliaments this year.

UCSZOO, Union of Czech and Slovac ZOOs, Lubomir Moudry, Chair, office@zoo.cz UCSZOO has had no such system to date. To qualify for membership, candidates had to have two sponsors and provide a certain package of base documents. This worked well enough with just established city zoos was all what formed the base of the members. With EU "zoo directive" and several new private licensed zoos coming to the scene, there was consensus that UCSZOO needed some kind of accreditation scheme for new applicants as well.

Any ongoing accreditation has not been considered necessary as there is a sufficient number of government bodies who come from time to time or pretty frequently to screen the licensed zoos here under the licensing act or any other relevant law. In addition, the membership is very well aware of any success/failure of others which is monitored and discussed/handled very soon afterwards. A very brief guidance for eligibility of membership is given in UCSZOO Constitution as well as Code of Ethics, which, however, is a very short document and far from saying it all. These two docs are going to be updated as well as part of the planned process. Both of them were born in the 1990s and do not fit to the current situation.

UCSZOO's accreditation scheme for new applicants is expected to be prepared by and agreed at the next annual meeting in 2013. Of course we would be more than happy to know the lessons learned elsewhere and have documents available from others if possible.

VDZ (German Federation of Zoo Directors) Peter Dollinger, Chair, office@zoodirektoren.de. VDZ has no formal accreditation system. Accession of regular members is by invitation only. Personal regular members must have an academic background (zoology or veterinary medicine, agriculture, forestry) and three years of practical experience in a scientifically directed zoo, and must be fulltime Executives of such a zoo. Institutional regular members must be scientifically directed zoos, i.e. in cases where the CEO does not have the required academic background, must have a zoological director with the necessary professional requirements. Interested persons or zoos cannot apply but must be proposed by two current regular members.

The zoo must come up to the requirements stipulated in the Annex to the VDZ Constitution, which is available in German only (see attachment). Although there is no formal accreditation, the procedure of VDZ is quite restrictive. In Germany, there are 600 zoos in the terms of the EU Zoo Directive, but only 50 of these are VDZ members, and there may be less than another 10 which would qualify for VDZ membership. In Switzerland there are 60 collections, 4 of which are VDZ members (3 more would qualify), and in Austria 80 collections of which 6 are VDZ members.

Regarding collection sustainability, VDZ runs a long-term Amphibian Conservation Programme in collaboration with DGHT (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde e.V.) which contains an ex situ component. Otherwise there are no programmes in this respect, as almost all our members are members of EAZA and thus participate in the EEPs.

ZAA, Zoo Aquarium Association Australasia. Martin Phillips, Chair, martin@zooaquarium.org.au>. ZAA has a handy7 page document describing their accreditation system, including introduction, definitions, philosophy, guiding principles, Policy & Policy detail, Accreditation Program (Accredited members), Animal Welfare Program (nonAccredited members), Breaches to the Standards, Recognition, Approval, etc. This Policy was endorsed by the Zoo and Aquarium Association Board on 27 August 2012