EAZA is committed to promoting the positive welfare of animals, not only in our member institutions but also through supporting zoos and aquaria which are currently working towards reaching EAZA’s accreditation standards. EAZA encourages and supports adoption of a proactive approach, to both undertaking and applying animal welfare scientific research. We adopt a multi-faceted, multi-disciplined approach to promotion of animal welfare best-practice via the delivery of animal welfare training and knowledge sharing platforms:

• The EAZA Academy organises and delivers a range of zoo and aquarium-focused professional training, including animal welfare-based workshops and courses.
• Development of the Erasmus+ funded European Professional Zookeeper Qualification Framework (EPZQF).
• EAZA Conference and Forums, including the EAZA Annual Conference, Nutrition Conference, Zoo Educators Conference and launching the EAZA Animal Welfare Forum. The EAZA Animal Welfare Forum will be held 22-24 March 2022, and will be hosted by Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands, registrations and Call for Abstracts will be opening after the summer of 2021. Save the Date!
• ‘EAZA Animal Welfare’ Facebook group – sharing evidence-based animal welfare research and application.

The EAZA Accreditation system

The EAZA Accreditation system which ensures that EAZA Accredited Members reach EAZA’s Standards of Accommodation and Care of Animals in Zoos and Aquaria, alongside EAZA’s Guidelines, such as the EAZA Guidelines on the use of animals in public demonstrations have now been incorporated into the EAZA Standards on the Accommodation and Care of Animals in Zoos and Aquariums. Those institutions who do not reach EAZA’s accreditation standards have the opportunity to join our Candidate for Membership programme. Candidates for Membership are supported by EAZA and the EAZA Technical Assistance Committee via the mentorship programme and production of EAZA’s Technical Assistance Manual: 'The Modern Zoo: foundations for Management and Development’, to aid them in raising their standards.

Production of resources, which include article animal welfare information:

• EAZA’s Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research (JZAR). JZAR is open-access to ensure evidence-based animal management knowledge is available for all animal management professionals.
• Production of animal care Best Practice Guidelines.
• Our quarterly magazine, Zooquaria (free to download).

The EAZA Animal Welfare Working Group (AWWG) is currently focused on: 

• Supporting planning and delivery of the EAZA Animal Welfare Forum 2022
•  Maintaining the Animal Welfare Assessments Library 
• Forming links with the EAZA Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs) through establishing Animal Welfare Liaison
• Providing animal welfare support to the EAZA Membership

Animal Welfare Assessments Library and decision-making tool

The ability to assess animal welfare within our zoo and aquarium collections is very valuable tool. Periodic assessment will not only provide understanding of the current state of welfare for the animals in our care, but it will also allow for monitoring in welfare changes and identify areas for welfare improvement. The EAZA Animal Welfare Assessments Library is a collection of previously established animal welfare assessments/auditing tools that have been kindly shared from researchers and animal management institutions. For more information and access to the public Library, please click here

EAZA Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) – Animal Welfare Liaisons

This project is focused on establishing information sharing frameworks and channels between welfare specialists, welfare research and representatives from EAZA Taxon Advisory Groups. This project aims to ensure scientific developments in welfare best practice are being efficiently shared and utilised in all taxon.

EAZA Welfare Webinars are free and open to all, to support animal management professionals across the wider animal management community. However, places are limited and EAZA Members are given priority 'early-bird' registration approval. Joining the webinars are a fantastic opportunity to gain professional development from experts in the animal welfare field, which you can apply within your own work to promote evidence-based positive animal welfare.

Please see below registration links, save-the dates, and recordings of previous webinars. Register for our next webinar now!

Next webinar(s):

• People, Animal Welfare and Conservation; aligning key priorities for zoos

with Dr Sally Sherwen from Zoos Victoria 17 March 2021 10:00 - 11:00 (CET) Register here

Exciting new research and developments are underway that demonstrates the interconnectedness between staff wellbeing and positive workplace culture, animal welfare standards and conservation outcomes. Historically, many have considered these areas as conflicting priorities that need to compete for resourcing within and between organisations. But science is now demonstrating the extent of overlap across these focus areas and potential for significant advancements if we re-imagine how we approach our zoo-based work programs. In this talk, I’ll use case study examples of what we’ve learned from better integrating programs of work across various disciplines and departments in an effort to expand reach and impact of our work.

How to take your welfare program to the next level: the C-Well dolphin assessment as an example of a species-specific tool, and AnimalCare Software's cloud-based welfare platform 

with Dr Isabella Clegg from Animal Welfare Expertise

Zoos and aquaria have made significant progress in developing their understanding and measurement of animal welfare over the last decade. Many institutions are therefore looking to further advance their welfare programs to be able to take more detailed welfare data, and more efficiently. This presentation lays out the next steps for such organisations, including identifying “high-risk” species and prioritising them by conducting detailed, species-specific welfare assessments on these animals to improve their welfare and increase transparency for the public. The C-Well Assessment for dolphins will be described as an example of such a tool, and the latest updates and findings will be discussed. Another important element of zoo welfare programs is the use of technology to aid welfare data collection, and AnimalCare Software’s recently released welfare templates will be showcased here as a powerful platform for efficiently gathering data and most importantly, it allows instant analysis of huge datasets so that results can be used to make real time improvements.

Click here for the webinar recording

The ability to assess animal welfare within our zoo and aquarium collections is very valuable tool. Periodic assessment will not only provide understanding of the current state of welfare for the animals in our care, but it will also allow for monitoring in welfare changes and identify areas for welfare improvement.

The EAZA Animal Welfare Assessments Library is a collection of previously established animal welfare assessments/ auditing tools that have been kindly shared from researchers and animal management institutions. The established assessments all take slightly different approaches to welfare monitoring and therefore this gives the opportunity to align your organisations needs with the appropriate pre-established assessments. A decision-making tool has been provided for the full library by the EAZA Animal Welfare Working Group in order to support members in selecting the most appropriate assessment for their needs.

The full library is now available on the Animal Welfare Working Group SharePoint page for EAZA member access. The library will continue to grow with more institutions offering their assessments and more translations of the current assessments being submitted.

 A number of institutions have offered to share their welfare assessment tools publicly, please see below for the welfare assessment library for public use.

  EAZA Animal Welfare Assessments Library: 

• AnimalConcepts 
• Detroit Zoological Society 
• Zoos Victoria (plus EAZA Animal Welfare Forum 2020 webinar: welfare risk assessment tool)

• Wildlife Reserves Singapore:
• Animal Welfare Assessment

• Wild Planet Trust:
• Animal Welfare Assessment
• Hungarian translation
• German translation
• French translation
• Czech translation
• Danish translation
• Spanish translation
• Portuguese translation
• Romanian translation
• Ukrainian translation
• Russian translation
• Arabic translation 1 and translation 2 
• Chinese translation
• Vietnamese translation

• Zoological Society of London:
• General instructions
• Mitigation Strategy
• Mitigation Strategy per animal
• Useful References
• Welfare audit
• Welfare audit per animal

• Welfare management system:
• Welfare Management Part 1 – Enclosure, Husbandry, Diet and Management
• Welfare Audit Part 2 – Behaviour
• Welfare Audit Part 3 – Social Grouping, Reproduction, Mortality and Morbidity Review
• Welfare Management Species Summary