Voicing Concerns

The idea behind AZA's new animal welfare rules is that every animal in the collection should receive an objective analysis of its well-being at least once a year.  That's just for routine check ups, of course.  There are other times when staff may want to assess an animal's quality of life.  Maybe it's recovering from a medical concern, or going through some social changes, or something just feels off.

Sometimes these changes can be very obvious.  If an animal is part of a mated pair and its mate passes away, it stands to reason that there may be a cause for concern.  Other times, it may be more subtle.  In those situations, the most likely person to find something wrong, the first line of defense is the person closest to the animal - the keeper.  

Of course, managers don't always listen to people on the ground, and zookeeping is no exception.  As such, a zoo should have a program in place for keepers to voice their concerns about issues that may compromise animal welfare.  Ideally, the system would be anonymous so keepers could blow whistles without worries about reprisals from managers (but that is unlikely - with the size of most zoos, there are only so many people who are likely to raise a specific concern about a specific animal).

Welfare concerns that are raised by staff, anonymous or otherwise, should be acknowledged by management and addressed within a timely fashion

There are few things more personal for a keeper than the care that they provide their animals... and that goes double for managers, who set the standards and guidelines for care.  Criticizing this care, or even implying that care isn't meeting the top standards, can really ruffle some feathers and offend people.  I get it.  

I've gotten pretty miffed when other keepers have suggested that I could do better.  Often, I felt that they were wrong.  Sometimes, they were right.  I would never be able to tell the difference unless I stop and really listen.   What's true on a personal level is equally true on an institutional one.