Animal Welfare

To be leaders in our field, animal welfare is paramount at Zoos Victoria. High standards of welfare are important for animals and enable or support an enjoyable and memorable visitor experience through opportunities to see positive animal behaviours.

In 2011, Zoos Victoria embarked on its animal welfare journey, adopting evidence-based scientific management and a continuous improvement philosophy to drive progress. A pivotal development was the organisation’s creation of an Animal Welfare Risk Assessment tool, and the implementation of an annual review process to guide the welfare assessment of animals in our care. This Zoos Victoria tool is now adopted by zoos and aquaria from across the globe.

Why is Animal Welfare important?

As consumers shift towards more ethical choices, organisations that care for animals face increased scrutiny. Complementary to this is the prolific advancements in animal welfare science: we believe that as our scientific understanding deepens, so should our approach to support animals thriving. Zoos Victoria’s overarching Code of Ethics ensures that this evolving mindset is at the heart of the organisation’s business operations and championed by its workforce. Animal welfare and wellbeing is at the core of what we do.

For many like-minded business, it’s not knowing where to start or how to identify your animal welfare philosophy. If your organisation is devoted to animal care and conservation, our Animal welfare program gives you the skills to assess animal welfare, improve your welfare standards and implement strategies for continuous improvement in animal welfare.