What are the AZA Standards for elephant care?
The AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care set minimum requirements for such things as space requirements, enclosure design, nutrition, reproduction, enrichment, and veterinary care to ensure a quality living environment for elephants. The standards, which became mandatory in 2006, were developed in consultation with zoo elephant experts, as well as field researchers and animal welfare advocates. AZA’s standards go far beyond what is required by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or state regulatory agencies and AZA-accredited zoos typically exceed them to provide superior elephant care and management practices. AZA Standards continually undergo review and change because there is much that scientists are still learning about zoo elephant management and care. AZA and its accredited institutions are committed to establishing research priorities, supporting research studies, and continuously improving these Standards ba
