Managment Guidelines for the Welfare of Zoo Animals 3Rd Edition © British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums 2010
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Elephants Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus Managment Guidelines for the Welfare of Zoo Animals 3rd Edition © British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Zoo Animals Elephants Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus Third edition (2010) Revised by Olivia Walter First published 2002 Published and printed by the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, United Kingdom ISSN 0963 - 1712 MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE WELFARE OF ZOO ANIMALS Elephants 3rd EDITION Incorporating BIAZA’s Policy Statement and Policy Document on the Management of Elephants British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Elephants Document compiled by Olivia Walter, IZVG, for the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums www.biaza.org.uk 3rd Edition January 2010 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Elephants.........................................................................ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..........................................................................................................III SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1 1.1 The Purpose of the Document .......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Additional Reasons for Management Guidelines.............................................................................. 2 1.3 BIAZA’s Elephant Policy Statement................................................................................................... 3 SECTION 2: BIOLOGY AND FIELD DATA..........................................................................5 A: BIOLOGY........................................................................................................................................5 2.1 Taxonomy.......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Morphology....................................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Physiology ....................................................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Longevity......................................................................................................................................... 12 B: FIELD DATA ..................................................................................................................................13 2.5 Zoogeography / Ecology.................................................................................................................. 13 2.6 Conservation and Protection .......................................................................................................... 17 2.7 Diet and Feeding Behaviour............................................................................................................ 29 2.8 Reproduction................................................................................................................................... 30 2.9 Behaviour and Social Organisation ................................................................................................. 31 SECTION 3: MANAGEMENT IN CAPTIVITY .................................................................. 37 3.1 Elephants and Man ......................................................................................................................... 37 3.2 General Guidance on Health and Welfare in Captivity ................................................................... 39 3.3 The Captive Environment................................................................................................................ 42 3.4 Feeding and Nutrition ..................................................................................................................... 62 3.5 Elephant Behaviour and Captivity................................................................................................... 75 3.6 Breeding in Zoos.............................................................................................................................. 83 3.7 Population Management .............................................................................................................. 113 3.8 Elephant Handling and Training.................................................................................................... 117 3.9 Standard Operating Procedure: Staff Training............................................................................. 143 3.10 Standard Operating Procedure: Use of Chains or Shackles on Elephants.................................. 146 3.11 Standard Operating Procedure: Voice Control .......................................................................... 147 3.12 Standard Operating Procedure: Use of the Ankus or Hook on Elephants ................................. 148 3.13 Standard Operating Procedure: Use of the Electric Goad or Hotshot on Elephants.................. 151 3.14 Transportation of Elephants ....................................................................................................... 152 3.15 Medical Management................................................................................................................. 156 3.16 Standard on Educational Activities Involving Elephants ............................................................. 199 3.17 Research...................................................................................................................................... 201 3.18 Public Relations and Elephants ................................................................................................... 202 3.19 Management Audits and Document Revision............................................................................. 205 SECTION 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................207 SECTION 5: REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................209 iii SECTION 6: APPENDICES ......................................................................................................I 6.1 Appendix 1: Training...................................................................................................................... 245 6.2 Appendix 2: Correct Application of Chains................................................................................... 255 6.4 Appendix 3: Risk Assessments....................................................................................................... 257 6.4 Appendix 4: Elephant Profiles ....................................................................................................... 260 6.5 Appendix 5: Staff training.............................................................................................................. 265 6.6 Appendix 6: Elephant Nutrition..................................................................................................... 268 6.7 Appendix 7: Elephant TAG Survey Results 2003 ........................................................................... 274 6.8 Appendix 8: BIAZA Elephant Focus Group Audit 2007 ................................................................. 285 6.9 Appendix 9: Appendix Research Priorities ................................................................................... 295 iv SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Purpose of the Document The first edition of the Elephant Guidelines was published in October 2002. The document underwent its first review process (c.f. Section 3.19) during 2003 and 2004. The EAZA Elephant TAG adopted the Guidelines in 2003 and were subsequently reviewed for EAZA who produced an abridged version (www.rotterdam/nl/zooinfo/). The Elephant EEPs have made a few amendments to their recommendations (see Sections 3.6) for the second edition that was published in 2006, but none subsequently. Several of the research recommendations have been carried out since the last edition, including a Defra/BIAZA/IFAW/RSPCA funded project carried out by the University of Bristol entitled ‘The Welfare, Housing and Husbandry of Elephants in UK Zoos’ (Harris et al 2008) and further analysis of the (Clubb and Mason 2002) data (Clubb et al. 2009; Clubb et al 2008) (see Section 3.17 Research). This third review is to update the guidelines to incorporating the research findings that have been recently published, publish the results of the audit against the 2nd edition of the guidelines and so acknowledge the changes that have occurred and identify new areas of research that have arisen. All amendments in this third edition are incorporated in the text, and highlighted through footnotes. This document incorporates BIAZA’s Elephant Management Policy. In order to explain the purpose of the document it is necessary to provide answers to a number of key questions: • Why are elephants kept in British and Irish zoos? • How can we justify their continued presence in zoos? • Who is the policy document for, and what does it set out to achieve?