DoE to collaborate exclusively with standardized zoos
The Director General of the Wildlife Protection and Management Office of the Department of the Environment (DoE), Gholamreza Ebdali, has announced that the organization will only cooperate with zoos that meet specific standards. Ebdali emphasized that zoos should not solely focus on economic and financial aspects, but also prioritize education, species protection, and animal rights.
According to ISNA, Hassan Akbari, the Deputy Director of Natural Environment and Biodiversity of the Natural Environment of the DoE, previously addressed the issue of wildlife loss in the country’s zoos. Akbari announced a rating plan for zoos, which has significantly limited the issuance of permits. Zoos that meet the required standards and demonstrate suitable activity are supported, while those failing to meet the standards are either removed or encouraged to improve.
Ebdali provided further details on the zoo ranking system. He explained that until recently, there was no criterion for ranking zoos to determine the level of cooperation. However, in the second half of the previous year, a rating plan was launched, and evaluation indicators were compiled. The plan currently includes about 16 axes with 70 indicators.
The organization’s evaluators assess zoos, bird gardens, and conservation centers based on these set standards and assign them a score. The zoos are then ranked based on these reviews and scores. Ebdali stated that following these ratings, the organization can only cooperate with zoos that meet the specified standards and can protect a wide variety of species.
Ebdali emphasized that the organization’s expectations from zoos are clearly defined in this plan. He said, “In this plan, issues such as education, animal rights, and protection have been emphasized a lot. Zoos should assist in the field of wildlife species protection and survival of many species, in addition to cooperating with the Environmental Protection Agency.”
The plan also addresses issues such as the quality of animal food, species welfare management, security of the storage place, species health, and disease management. Each of these areas has its own evaluation axes and indicators.
In conclusion, Ebdali stressed that the guidelines are completely up-to-date and stated, “We expect zoos not to operate only with economic and financial goals. Zoos can have much more important goals. Issues such as education, respecting animal rights, species protection, and research should be emphasized and given more importance as scientific centers where university projects and animal behavior studies are conducted.”