Getting Better All the Time

Protection, Safety, and Security of Zoo Wildlife Begins at Home

By James F. Gesualdi

To keep ahead, each one of us, no matter what our task, must search for new and better methods—for even that which we now do well must be done better tomorrow.
—James F. Bell

Sad, Scary, and Upsetting Incidents

Closely monitoring ongoing developments in animal-related facilities, especially those maintained by zoological organizations, has long been a daily practice for me, and a form of professional development and training. Sometimes, there are events that sadden, scare, and upset me—and that genuine emotional reaction provides motivation to spring into a more constructive mindset, to examine, study, and explore means of resolving and improving such situations. It takes time, and it yields new insights and ideas that prepare me to be of greater assistance, if and when called upon. Often, this practice manifests in the form of articles and talks. This column is one such effort. Over the years, many of the ideas have been put to very good use by caring zoological professionals.

Recently, there were several attention-grabbing news stories relating to zoo animals reported missing, being taken (or kidnapped), harmed, or killed due to accidents involving habitat spaces, feral dogs, and apparent criminal acts. These were tragic incidents, some with terrible consequences for the animals affected. Some of these prompted introspection, zoological communitywide notice, consultations with manufacturers, and new security initiatives relying on greater patrols, and additions of monitoring and surveillance cameras.

Your Awareness, Thinking and Actions

If you are a zoological professional, take a moment and think. How many of those situations have you become aware of since the beginning of the year, or in the last few months? What actions, if any, did you take at your facility, based on this awareness? Do your answers to these questions leave you feeling comfortable, or queasy about your stewardship of the animals entrusted to your care? How will you do better?

Raising these questions is a reality check—a wake-up call. Now, we can do what we are here for: get to work to protect animals. To help you build momentum, here are a number of measures to consider, with respect to your facility and the animals you are responsible for protecting. Granted that accidents happen, things break down and determined bad actors will often find a way to do harm, we can still do even more, and provide better animal protection, safety, and security.

Using the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) Regulations and Guidance

Animal protection, safety and security is the responsibility of regulated entities, including zoological organizations licensed as exhibitors under the AWA. Here are some ideas for strengthening your animal protection, safety and security program.

  • Attentiveness and awareness. It starts with being attentive, and aware that this is an important part of your mission, because there are countless potential threats requiring constant vigilance. Ultimately, this should be a foundational pillar of organizational culture.
  • All staff can help. As with animal well-being, all staff can contribute to animal protection, safety, and security. Any and all staff members and volunteers—in addition to animal care, education, and security staff—can be sensitized to pay close attention to anyone or anything that might seem out of place, to identify instances of concern that are worthy of closer observation.
  • Periodically pull out the AWA regulations relating to facilities and animal handling. The regulations (available here), as well as the Animal Welfare Inspection Guide (available here), should be revisited from time to time, as a refresher of what the agency finds essential and helpful to animal and human protection and safety. Note that sometimes the electronic version of the regulations posted online may not yet include more recently enacted regulations, so you may need copies of them. Perhaps agency officials could indicate which regulations may be missing, and list and link them nearby (as they sometimes have done).
  • Facilities and maintenance staff are key. Facilities, landscaping, and maintenance staff ensure that animal-related infrastructure—including barriers, enclosures, gates and housing, natural features and vegetation, and perimeter fences—are clean, secure, well-maintained and in good working order. Having them engaged in regular rounds and inspections with animal care staff is an invaluable good practice.
  • Brief contractors who are visiting and/or working on site to be aware of, and responsible for, proper conduct and precautions. Introductory planning, agreements, work site orientation, signage, and mark outs of restricted areas should all be used to comprehensively and consistently advise these workers and professionals, to better prepare them to avoid—and not cause—issues relating to the animals.
  • Regularly inspect and review enclosure and perimeter fence integrity and safety. Regularly scheduled preventative reviews and maintenance are good practices. Barrier and perimeter fence reviews should always examine materials and structures, and areas above, below, and around barriers and fences—for breaks, gaps in materials, or vegetation that may allow people or unwanted animals to breach those protective features. Record checks and repairs, to document your conscientious and consistent actions to protect the animals.
  • Review and update contingency plan and associated training. Your organization should be well prepared to respond to any break-in or damage to an animal habitat or enclosure, related injury, or abduction of an animal—in addition to doing all you can to prevent such occurrences. This will reduce delay and make for much more effective action to save and rescue any affected animal. Related training should include briefing first responders and law enforcement on things to be alert to, in terms of potential injuries or zoonotic risks to any alleged perpetrators, as a means of tracking them down, bringing them to justice, and, most importantly, safely recovering the animals.
  • Video monitoring and surveillance. This is commonly utilized, and is one of the recent points of emphasis with zoological community leadership. In real time and as a preventative measure, video surveillance may provide some deterrence, and is most effective when there is active monitoring. Video footage can provide useful information as to what happened when, and the people involved. Regular review of any video footage that is not actively monitored is helpful, and may suggest the existence of potential issues not otherwise discovered. Depending on the area of camera coverage, regular retrospective review by caregivers may also produce a valuable contribution to a robust animal welfare program.
  • Security, staff, and volunteer patrols. These can provide incident deterrents and preventative measures, as well as means of ensuring prompt discovery of and response to situations of concern.
  • Alarms. Alarm systems, especially silent ones that are consistently monitored, can alert security staff and others to breaches and breaks that warrant investigation. They can also sometimes generate false alarms, requiring modification of alarm sensor placement or sensitivity.
  • Incident review. Systematic review of incidents in house, as well as known ones elsewhere, is a powerful tool for examining risks and developing innovative—and even greater—protective measures.
  • Take advantage of your inspector’s next visit. Ask your inspector if they have encountered worthwhile new security measures at other similar facilities. Perhaps your inspector may have feedback or suggestions on your own facility and program. Make a notation about this on your inspection checklist, and keep it in the inspection folder so you are ready.
  • Bring your kids to work. Many times over the years, when called in to review situations, it has been recommended that zoological organization staff members with young children bring them in, and closely watch them safely explore things like barriers, as their childlike curiosity can likely help us see things that we might not otherwise recognize.
  • Record your safety, animal protection, and security program efforts. This is a simple and effective way to demonstrate your good faith efforts in this regard, and it allows your team and outsiders to review and improve upon those efforts.

Leadership and Stewardship in Animal Protection

Being good leaders and stewards, with respect to protecting the wildlife entrusted to our care, advances their interests, protection, and well-being. Significantly, it is necessary for us to continue to earn the moral authority to advocate for the protection of animals and the conservation of species in native habitats. Protection, safety, and security matter—all day, every day—and should not only be top of mind after a distressing incident or series of incidents. Providing excellent protection, safety, and security demonstrate that we are all in on behalf of the animals—and that is how it should be.

What you do on your ordinary days determines what you can achieve on your extraordinary days.
—James Clear

In loving memory of Jimmy Fogarty, a good and happy man, who demonstrated daily a long life well lived; Don Baur, Esq., with whom decades of different perspectives only made me cherish our friendship even more, and enhanced my respect for the earnestness of his relentless efforts on behalf of animals and the oceans; Patty Koch, a truly beautiful soul inside and out; and Dr. Anthony Recascino, a calm, grounded, kind, intelligent man who cared deeply for animals, and people, too. The goodness of each of them touched my grateful heart.

© 2023 James F. Gesualdi, P.C. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author. This is not, nor should it be construed as, legal advice.