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In reply to the discussion: Gorilla killed after 3-year-old falls into enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo [View all]mahatmakanejeeves
(58,010 posts)Last edited Tue May 31, 2016, 10:50 AM - Edit history (1)
They are required to do so.
I work with ANSI standards. ANSI is the American National Standards Institute. There's an ANSI standard - or several - for every thing out there. How wide are steps? ANSI standard. What's their slope? ANSI standard. How high are doorknobs (or levers)? ANSI standard. How much effort is required to turn them? ANSI standard. Ski lifts? ANSI standard. Everything has an ANSI standard.
I'm sure that zoos are members of standards-setting organizations too. I did some digging this morning and came up with this. These standards deal with the welfare of the enclosed animals. I'll keep looking to see what standards there are to deal with the humans viewing the animals.
Zoological Association of America Animal Care & Enclosure Standards and Related Policies
Scroll down to page 49:
Facilities shall develop, implement, and enforce sufficient risk management practices and policies that include all relevant aspects of the facility.
Facilities meeting any of the following criteria must have, at least, the associated procedure:
1. Owns, houses, or otherwise maintains live specimens (regardless of public viewings)
a. Animal escape procedure
i. Must include means of resolving the escaped animal situation
ii. Include specifics for facilities containing Class I and/or Class II species
b. Other
2. Open to the public (public visit the facility)
a. Accident (animal and non-animal) procedure
b. Incidents involving an animal or animal exhibit (such as, if a person enters an exhibit)
c. Other
3. Subjected to unpredictable or devastating acts of nature (such as tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, fires, etc.)
a. Appropriate protocol to plan for, exist through, and recuperate after (animal related)
b. Other
4. Employs staff
a. Training manuals and protocols (to include safety requirements)
b. Other
5. Other
a. Trespassers
b. Security
c. Burglary
d. General Safety
e. Other
Sufficient protocols must cover all applicable aspects of the facility. 1. A sufficient protocol shall be properly implemented by following three steps: a. Training: all relevant staff shall be fully trained on the protocol. b. Written: the protocol must be written down and included as part of the required duties of all relevant staff and prominently posted in the relevant area. c. Supervision: the owner or manager must ensure adherence to the protocol through supervision or other appropriate means, to include enforcement.
Whatever written protocol is in place at the Cincinnati Zoo, if it's not currently publicly accessible, it will be FOIA'd pretty soon.
A post elsewhere says there are federal
ETA: Here are the Federal regulations governing the only Federally owned zoo in the country:
CHAPTER VSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
PART 520RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS OF THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION