Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

The British Travel Association, ABTA, has thrown its weight behind Born Free Foundation’s latest initiative aimed at improving standards in wild animal care in Europe’s zoos.

The EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 is an evaluation of the implementation and enforcement of the EC Zoos Directive 1999/22 in 21 EU countries which aims to ensure appropriate wild animal welfare in zoos across Europe.  Reflecting the Association’s sustainable focus and objective to raise standards in the tourism industry worldwide, ABTA has written to the Ministers responsible for tourism in relevant EU countries, encouraging them to review and address the EU Zoo Inquiry findings and improve standards in their zoos.

Nikki White, Head of Destinations and Sustainability for ABTA explained, “At ABTA, we recognise both the intrinsic link between animals and the tourism industry and the potential for there to be welfare issues associated with tourist activities involving animals. Our aim is to raise awareness of animal welfare best practice and to this end, we welcome the results of this important investigation conducted by the Born Free Foundation. We have subsequently called upon destination governments to take the findings of the published reports on board and use them to drive welfare standards upwards in their countries. For ABTA, animal welfare is a vital part of ensuring a sustainable travel and tourism sector and these reports clearly identify areas in which improvements can be made.”

Daniel Turner, Project Manager of The EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 at the Born Free Foundation said,

“Born Free and ENDCAP welcomes the support and actions of ABTA, and their extensive membership, in their endeavours to help improve standards for animals in Europe’s estimated 3500 zoos. We hope their actions will help to influence change to the lives of many thousands of animals currently housed in substandard conditions across Europe.”

The EU Zoo Inquiry reports which examine zoo regulation and performance in EU countries can be viewed at www.euzooinquiry.eu

October 2011