Under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 the Secretary of State is required to specify detailed standards for zoo management that zoos are expected to comply with. The Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice are designed to ensure that the welfare of animals in zoos is adequately protected.
The current standards state that euthanasia in zoos is an acceptable procedure only if an animal cannot be provided with captive conditions which meet the Five Principles of animal welfare, or if it cannot be released into the wild. These Five Principles are based on the ‘Five Freedoms’ drawn up for livestock by the Farm Animal Welfare Council, and they comprise: provision of food and water; provision of a suitable environment; provision of animal health care; provision of an opportunity to express most normal behaviour; provision of protection from fear and distress.
The standards provide strict guidelines on circumstances where euthanasia is justifiable. These are:
if, in the opinion of a vet, an animal is suffering from an incurable disease, or severe pain or suffering which cannot be alleviated.
if a zoo has to close, euthanasia may be the only option for some animals and the most humane for others.
if the animal poses a serious and unavoidable threat to human safety (e.g. because it has escaped);
culling of surplus stock (including unacceptable sex ratios) where overcrowding compromises the welfare of the animals so that it is impractical to maintain them within the Five Principles.
The standards further recommend that zoos have a policy, with appropriate protocols, which should be made available to zoo inspectors during their regular inspection visits under the Zoo Licensing Act. This should also form part of the zoo’s audit process. Zoos are also expected to have in place an ethical review process, which would address issues such as the establishment’s culling policy.