Zoos told to bring in 'long overdue' welfare reforms

Zoos will be legally required to give animals more enclosure space as "long overdue" animal welfare reforms come into force.

The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said new standards published on Saturday would modernise British zoo practices for the first time in over a decade.

Under the changes, elephants must be given larger habitats and the legislation will bring an end to practices like the long-term tethering of birds of prey and letting visitors touch fish and cephalopods such as rays and octopuses.

Jamie Christon, chief executive of Chester Zoo, told the BBC he welcomed the changes, and the process of rolling them out had already begun.

Zoos and aquariums will face a two-year timeline to adapt to the changes, which will also require them to improve conservation standards and safety measures when keeping dangerous animals.

Mr Christon said the zoo had been working with Defra to develop the reforms and they were not a "major surprise".

"These standards have been delayed for the last two years, really, as a result of changing governments", Mr Christon said.

"That's meant that zoos haven't been able to invest, and now that we'll be able to get the standards out there, all 196 pages of them."

Chester Zoo has already planned to increase the size of its elephant enclosure.

Animal welfare minister Baroness Hayman said the move was the "first step" in the government's plan to deliver the "most ambitious welfare reforms in a generation".

She said: "We are a nation of animal lovers, and our best zoos and aquariums are truly world leaders in setting the standard for how wild animals should be kept.

"Today's long-overdue reforms lay the foundation for an even stronger, even more compassionate future for all zoos and aquariums - and the animals they protect."

Dr Jo Judge, CEO of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which represents over 130 zoos and aquariums, said its members have been "working closely" with Defra officials to meet the updated standards.

"The new standards are a significant step up in legal requirements and cement Britain's position as a global leader for zoos and aquariums", she said.

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