Table Of ContentManagment
Guidelines
for the
Welfare of
Zoo Animals
EElleepphhaannttss
LLooxxooddoonnttaa aaffrriiccaannaa
aanndd EElleepphhaass mmaaxxiimmuuss
© British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums 2006
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording
or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publisher.
Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Zoo Animals
Elephants Loxodonta africanaand Elephas maximus
Second edition
Compiled by Miranda F Stevenson and Olivia Walter
First published 2002
Published and printed by the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums,
Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, United Kingdom
ISSN 0963 - 1712
MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
FOR THE WELFARE OF ZOO
ANIMALS
Elephants
2nd EDITION
Incorporating BIAZA’s Policy Statement
and Policy Document on the Management
of Elephants
British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Elephants
Document compiled by Miranda F Stevenson and Olivia Walter
for the British and Irish Association of Zoos and
Aquariums www.biaza.org.uk
2nd Edition March 2006
ii
Table of Contents
Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Elephants........................ii
Table of Contents....................................................................................iii
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................v
1.1 The Purpose of the Document..............................................................v
1.2 Additional Reasons for Management Guidelines..............................vi
1.3 BIAZA’s Elephant Policy Statement ....................................................vii
Section 2: BIOLOGY AND FIELD DATA..................................................9
A: BIOLOGY.............................................................................................9
2.1 Taxonomy.................................................................................................9
2.2 Morphology..............................................................................................12
2.3 Physiology................................................................................................14
2.4 Longevity..................................................................................................15
B: FIELD DATA........................................................................................16
2.5 Zoogeography / Ecology.......................................................................16
2.6 Conservation and Protection.................................................................20
2.7 Diet and Feeding Behaviour..................................................................25
2.8 Reproduction............................................................................................26
2.9 Behaviour and Social Organisation......................................................27
Section 3: MANAGEMENT IN CAPTIVITY...............................................33
3.1 Elephants and Man..................................................................................33
3.2 General Guidance on Health and Welfare in Captivity.....................35
3.3 The Captive Environment......................................................................37
3.4 Feeding and Nutrition............................................................................46
3.5 Elephant Behaviour and Captivity.......................................................56
3.6 Breeding in Zoos......................................................................................61
3.7 Population Management........................................................................75
3.8 Elephant Handling and Training..........................................................78
3.9 Standard Operating Procedure: Staff Training..................................97
3.10 Standard Operating Procedure: Use of Chains or Shackles on
Elephants.................................................................................................100
3.11 Standard Operating Procedure: Voice Control................................102
3.12 Standard Operating Procedure: Use of the Ankus or Hook on
Elephants.................................................................................................103
3.13 Standard Operating Procedure: Use of the Electric Goad or Hotshot
on Elephants............................................................................................106
iii
3.14 Transportation of Elephants................................................................107
3.15 Medical Management...........................................................................111
3.16 Standard on Educational Activities Involving Elephants...............126
3.17 Research..................................................................................................128
3.18 Public Relations and Elephants..........................................................129
3.19 Management Audits and Document Revision.................................131
Section 4: Acknowledgements...............................................................134
Section 5: References/Bibliography.......................................................136
Section 6: Appendices.............................................................................163
6.1 Appendix 1: Training.............................................................................163
6.2 Appendix 2: Correct Application of Chains........................................173
6.3 Appendix 3: Risk Assessments.............................................................175
6.4 Appendix 4: Elephant Profiles..............................................................177
6.5 Appendix 5: Staff training.....................................................................179
6.6 Appendix 6: Elephant Nutrition...........................................................182
6.7 Appendix 7: Elephant Survey Results.................................................192
6.8 Appendix 8: Elephant TAG Survey Forms and Results....................204
6.9 Appendix 9: Appendix Research Prioities.........................................214
iv
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Purpose of the Document
The first edition of the Elephant Guidelines was published in October 2002.
The document underwent its first review process (c.f. Section 3.19) during
2003 and 2004. The EAZA Elephant TAG adopted the Guidelines in 2003 and
are currently in the process of reviewing them for EAZA. The Elephant EEPs
have also made a few amendments to their recommendations (see Sections
3.6). These amendments have been added in italics as have some comments
pertaining to BIAZA Guidelines.
Several of the recommendations have been carried out (see Section 3.17
Research). Notably the completion and an analysis of questionnaires (see
Appendix 8 for report) and John Ray has carried out a second and more
detailed survey and analysis on handler-elephant incidences.
All amendments in this second edition are incorporated in the text, and also
highlighted through footnotes.
This document incorporates BIAZA’s Elephant Management Policy. In order
to explain the purpose of the document it is necessary to provide answers to a
number of key questions:
• Why are elephants kept in British and Irish zoos?
• How can we justify their continued presence in zoos?
• Who is the policy document for, and what does it set out to achieve?
• Who is responsible for implementation and review of the policy?
There have been elephants in captivity in western zoos for centuries.
Originally imported as exotic showpieces in menageries, as the one exhibited
in the Tower of London in 1256 [Menageries 1931 #30], they are now
ambassadors for their species and form a basis for conservation breeding and
conservation education activities.
Both African and Asian Elephant species are under extreme pressure from
poaching, habitat-loss and human conflict in the wild, which has increased, in
recent years. Zoos now have a legacy of long-lived individuals that they must
care for and involve in genuine conservation-related activities. Justification
for a continued presence of elephants in zoos can only be by demonstration of
a conservation benefit to the species. This should also assist in achieving a
shift in public understanding, attitudes and action towards field conservation.
Part of the justification of keeping elephants in zoos must be the recognition of
a clear accountability, on the part of zoos, to care for the animals under
optimal standards of welfare which relate, as far as is possible, to natural
behaviours and which follow the five principles as set out in the Secretary of
State’s Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (DETR (DEFRA) 2000) under the
(Zoo Licensing Act 2002)
v
This document sets out current best practice and principles that should be
followed by responsible zoos. As such its primary target group is zoo
managers and zookeepers, who together bear responsibility for humane care
and conservation benefit. The document spans broad imperatives and
detailed procedures and will certainly need regular updating as knowledge of
elephants’ biology, behaviour and needs is advanced. The secondary target
group concerns all people who ask, perfectly legitimately, the questions listed
above. Zoos can act as excellent vehicles for conservation but will only
succeed, in the longer term, if they enlist public understanding, sympathy and
support. This can only be achieved by transparency of action and good
communication.
1.2 Additional Reasons for Management Guidelines
1. There is not a comprehensive widely used manual in existence. People
looking after elephants have differing methods according to home-grown
traditions and practices. There is a need to bring together combined
experience and offer suggested best practices.
2. Elephants are long-lived and highly intelligent animals with a complex
social life. Often their needs are not fully provided for when they are held
in a captive environment. There is understandable public concern about
whether keeping elephants in captivity is justifiable, particularly on
grounds of welfare and care. These concerns are legitimate and must be
addressed in a positive and constructive fashion that will improve
conditions for elephants.
3. Elephants are already in captivity, not including those remaining as semi-
domesticated working animals in countries in Asia. It is not intended to
debate the philosophical and rights issues of whether elephants should be
in captivity, they are. However it is intended to stress that since elephants
are in captivity there is a fundamental duty of care on the part of the
people who manage, control and own them. A collection of standards and
best practices makes it easier for people to attain the highest possible levels
of care, both physiological and psychological.
4. The presence of elephants in zoos and safari parks must be set in the
context of the threats to overall survival of extant species of elephant. The
shrinkage of habitable range, poaching for ivory, elephant-human conflict,
emergence of shared/communicable diseases with domestic livestock all
contribute to an ongoing decline in wild populations. Population
modelling and projections indicate that the solution, simply in population
numbers terms, is most unlikely to be from captive breeding. Even if
sustainable captive breeding established surplus numbers, the behavioural
conditioning, securing of habitat and management of disease risks all
mitigate realistic plans for reintroduction. Nevertheless it is vital to
achieve normal breeding in zoos in order to avoid temptations to import
wild-caught animals, and, arguably, to retain such an effective
‘ambassador’ species on which to base educational conservation messages
and thereby enlist real support for direct conservation and change the
attitudes of people into future generations.
vi
5. Elephants are large and intelligent animals. There is a tradition of close
contact between the elephants and their carers. Bull elephants manifest a
condition known as musth when their testosterone levels are very high and
their behaviour becomes extremely unpredictable and dangerous. In
addition many elephants have, unfortunately had what can only be
described as at best a ‘mixed’ experience of interaction with humans. At
worst some animals have been subjected to debasement and outright
brutality. There are clear risks to people in working with, and being close
to, elephants. Human mortality records in zoos over many decades bear
witness to this fact and, sadly, new fatalities continue to be added. A
major benefit of reviewing and collating best practice in elephant
management is to make the occupation of the elephant carer safer, whilst
retaining the best aspects of human and animal bonding and care that
undeniably do exist.
ASSUMPTIONS
Elephants are worthy of our respect as another long-lived, intelligent species.
If we cannot look after them properly then we should not even attempt to.
African and Asian species of elephant have sufficiently similar natural
behaviours and biology that, unless specific distinctions are drawn, in general
they can managed and cared for in a similar manner. Larger samples sizes
from questionnaires may show up some of these differences which are
relevant to captive management. Some current differences may be due to age
structure of the two populations. It has been suggested, that African
elephants are more difficult to train (Mellen and Ellis 1996), although this
view is not widely accepted. (De Leon 1981)
Given that welfare is both difficult to define and measure we must accept that
definitive welfare measures for zoos elephants will be difficult to attain,
particularly given the number of elephants in captivity. In the absence of
sufficient data we are obliged to give the animals the benefit of the doubt in
terms of management recommendations. That is to say rather than waiting
for evidence which states that a variable correlates welfare, where common
sense suggests that such a variable is likely to correlate with welfare, we will
assume it does until evidence is available to contradict this and management
recommendations should reflect this1.
1.3 BIAZA’s Elephant Policy Statement
This document incorporates BIAZA’s Elephant Management Policy. Some of
the management guidelines are mandatory and some guidance. Those that
are mandatory are high-lighted in boxes and include the word ‘must’. All
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are mandatory. Areas covered by
SOPs are:
• Elephant training issues
1 The paragraph has been added to explain basis of assumptions.
vii
(cid:131) Shackling
(cid:131) Voice control
(cid:131) Use of the ankus or hook
(cid:131) Use of the electric goad or hotshot
(cid:131) Use of elephants in demonstrations
• Staff training
• Health and safety and risk assessments
BIAZA, through its membership of responsible zoos and the executive
management, will follow through the implementation of this policy and
guidelines and ensure that it is reviewed and revised annually.
Zoos must continually assess their performance against BIAZA’s Elephant
Management Policy and the Secretary of State’s Standards of Modern Zoo
Practice (SSSMZP), with their defined standards and procedures, in order to
demonstrate legal compliance and address legitimate public concerns.
ELEPHANT MANAGEMENT POLICY STATEMENT
Elephants must only be kept in zoos as part of an overriding conservation
mission so that they are in actively managed breeding programmes. These
follow the same guidelines as for other EEP programmes, i.e. the captive
population is managed to maintain an agreed level of genetic diversity and
size commensurate with that required to sustain a captive population for a
minimum period of 100 years. This may mean that non-breeding elephants
are kept at some zoos to ensure maximization of the capacity for elephant
breeding zoos and control of the breeding population1.
Their presence must enable progressive educational activities and
demonstrate links with field conservation projects and benign scientific
research, leading to continuous improvements in breeding and welfare
standards.
Zoos must exercise a duty of care so that standards of husbandry practices,
housing, health and welfare management are humane and appropriate to the
intelligence, social behaviour, longevity and size of elephants. All zoos
should aim to continuously improve welfare standards.
Zoos must meet their moral and legal responsibility to ensure the safety of
visitors and staff.
1 This paragraph has been expanded to provide a clearer meaning for managed population.
viii
Description:without permission in writing from the publisher. Management Guidelines for
the Welfare of Zoo Animals. Elephants Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus
.
