Zoo Best Practices Working Group

You are here:

Over the last 18 months, the Zoo Best Practices Working Group (ZBPWG) has been actively involved in fulfilling our mission. The project was cooperatively funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Animal Care (AC) program. Dr. Yvonne Nadler with the Lincoln Park Zoo directed the project. The project was overseen for USDA APHIS by Dr. Kevin Dennison. The working group goal was defined as:

The mission of the Zoological Best Practices Working Group is to promote a culture of all hazards contingency planning and preparedness for the managed wildlife community. To that end, the group will research, prepare, review and disseminate documents to assist facilities in drafting their own contingency plans. The Working Group will encourage facilities to work with first responders, local emergency management and other stakeholders to draft useful plans that are integrated into their jurisdictional emergency management infrastructure.

The members of the working group included collaborators from zoos, wildlife rehabilitation centers, animal sanctuaries, exotic game ranchers, veterinarians, and USDA. The documents available here represent this collaboration.

While some managed wildlife facilities already have written contingency plans in place, a proposed change to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations would require all licensees and registrants to develop their own unique plans. Regardless, all managed wildlife facilities share unique challenges when it comes to planning. Depending on the species, there may be substantial challenges to emergency care and treatment, obtaining transportation resources, and arranging alternate housing during disasters. These documents should assist any facility in designing a plan that meets their unique needs. In addition, considerable attention is paid to general business contingency planning issues, such as managing staff, financial continuity, data preservation, communications, and recovery.

Plans themselves are a first step, but without training personnel on their roles in emergency or disaster response, the plans are only paper. Personnel should be trained to perform what is expected of them in a response. This will increase the likelihood of a successful outcome for both the animals and people.

THE PROCESS

The first workshop of the ZBPWG was held in January 2010 at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo to consider potential disasters and emergency preparedness. Participants included those from various animal industry groups, and a diverse group of dedicated experts. The history of zoos and exotic animal facilities and disasters was discussed. Compelling presentations were made by representatives from Central Florida Zoo, Audubon Zoo and Los Angeles Zoo as they shared their experiences responding to major disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. Hazards unique to this distinctive community, such as the inherent danger of working around exotic animals, were debated. These early exercises prepared the way for conducting research and drafting documents to guide those who manage wildlife on how to write useful plans for their own facilities.

JANUARY 2010 MEETING

JANUARY 2011 MEETING

ZOO BEST PRACTICES WORKING GROUP DOCUMENTS

These documents have been designed as a starting point for basic information on drafting contingency plans. The Working Group materials contain basic planning recommendations and best practices in a ‘check box’ format. Not all information is relevant for every facility. The documents will often refer the reader to other material where a topic is discussed at greater length. These referrals are noted as follows: see Administration Annex. There are extensive lists of references to websites and published material for more detailed information.

Emergency planners must remember that emergencies start and end locally. Therefore, many wildlife facilities cannot create an effective plan without the help of the local jurisdictional authorities such as law enforcement and fire departments. These professionals, along with local jurisdictional emergency managers and other stakeholders will assist a facility in drafting plans that can be integrated into the local response structure. They may also assist the facilities that are part of the public sector in determining the best format to use for their written plans.

View Documents

JANUARY 2010 CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (CLICK to view, ESC to close)

New Orleans Zoo

New Orleans Zoo

Larry Rivarde shared a presentation outlining how the New Orleans Zoo met the challenges of Hurricane Katrina

Los Angeles Zoo

Los Angeles Zoo

Curtis Eng showed how animals were relocated to safe areas during Southern California wildfires

Florida Zoos

Florida Zoos

Joe Mantisano presented the difficulties Florida Zoos confronted in the aftermath of hurricanes

Texas Fires 2011

Texas Fires 2011

TACH Responds to Raging Fires throughout Texas

WORKING GROUP MEMBERS, COLLABORATORS AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PROJECT

Jereme Altendorf	US Coast Guard	Gene Field	Illinois Dept. Agriculture	Frank Kohn	US Fish & Wildlife	Larry Rivarde	Audubon Institute
Lori Arent	The Raptor Center	Patty Finch	Glob'l Fed Anim'l Sanct.	Jim Kunkle	IL Dept Agriculture	Ian Robinson	In'l Fnd Anim'l Welf're
William Baker	Panthera Research	Ray Flynn	USDA	Jeanie Lin	USDA	Megan Ross	Lincoln Park Zoo
Dawn Barksdale	USDA	Laurie Gage	USDA	Mark Lloyd	Humane Society	Anna Ruman	USDA
Gretchen Bickert	Phoenix Zoo	Katie Gillespie	Lincoln Park Zoo	Bonnie Lockwood	Lincoln Park Zoo	Rachel Santymire	Lincoln Park Zoo
Jeleen Briscoe	USDA	Nick Gilman	Glob'l Fed Anim'l Sanct.	Mike Mace	S. Diego Zoo Safari	Karen Shenoy	Wildlife Rehab. MN.
Anthony Brown	San Francisco Zoo	Dick Green	Int. Fund Animal Welfare	Lynn McDuffie	Disney Anim'l K'gd'm	Denise Sofranko	USDA
Gail Buhl	The Raptor Center	Phil Gruzalski	USDA ESF 11	Joe Montisano	Central Florida Zoo	Evan Sorley	Lincoln Park Zoo
Heather Case	AVMA	Marisa Hickey	Lincoln Park Zoo	Yvonne Nadler	Lincoln Park Zoo	Aubrey Tauer	Lincoln Park Zoo
Gordon Cleveland	USDA	Allan Hogue	USDA	Ann Olson	Roosevelt Park Zoo	Steve Thompson	Lincoln Park Zoo
Pam Dennis	Cleveland Zoo	David Jarvis	St. Louis Zoo	Steve Olson	AZA	Edward Wilkerson	Lincoln Park Zoo
Kevin Dennison	USDA	Amy Jarisa-Smith	USDA	Kristy Pabilonia	Colorado State U	Michelle Willette	The Raptor Center
Cindy DiGeswaldo	USDA	Ken Kirstein	USDA	Rene Poirrier	NASAAEEP	Richard Winters	Texas Animal Health
Cheryl Eia	Iowa State University	Anne Knapp	Zoo New England	Bryan Quick	Lincoln Park Zoo	Kurt Zitzner	Lincoln Park Zoo
Curtis Eng	LA Zoo & Botanical	Barb Kohn	USDA	Leslie Reed	Wildlife Rehab. MN.