Zoo management is acting quickly to implement a 36- point action plan to address areas of concern contained in a review conducted by the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
One of the highlights of the report indicated that human error was behind more incidents than any other Canadian zoon.
“There’s no doubt many high profile incidents resulted from natural causes or medical conditions, but equally, some were caused by unacceptable actions including human error. That is why I commissioned this review and why we have created a 36-point action plan,” President and CEO of the Calgary Zoo, Dr. Clement Lanthier said.
The review was requested by Lanthier after several high profile animal deaths at the zoo.
The zoo is releasing all documentation from the review and action plan.
Several areas of concern were pointed out by the report. They include:
- Animal care including policies and procedures and collection planning
- Staffing, including structure, training, experience and communications
- Facilities and financial support for infrastructure maintenance
- Security and safety drills
“My focus from the outset has been on continuous improvement and on creating a better zoo. While I’m pleased the review team confirmed we do some great work, they also, as I had anticipated, identified a number of systemic issues. Some of the analysis within the review is debatable; however we agree with the systemic issues, and addressing those is the focus of our action plan,” Lanthier said.
More to come…
