Erkens wants tougher action against zoos that lag on animal welfare
State Secretary Silvio Erkens wants to overhaul zoo licensing so that parks that fall behind on animal welfare can be dealt with more firmly, while those that invest find it easier to renew their licence.
On Monday State Secretary Silvio Erkens (agriculture) sent a vision letter to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament proposing an overhaul of the zoo licensing system (vergunningenstelsel). Under it, zoos that do not keep up with new insights on animal welfare can be forced to renew, and in the most extreme case the authorities would consider withdrawing their licence.
Zoos now hold a licence for an indefinite period. That makes it hard to hold lagging zoos to account and leaves them little urgency to change, according to the letter. A zoo that changes nothing can carry on for years as before.
Only zoos that want to make changes are reassessed today, and they run into heavy administrative demands. Erkens says a zoo wanting better enclosures can get stuck in the rules. Zoos must currently justify in detail how large the grains of sand in an aquarium are, or the diameter of a bird perch.
Under the new system, zoos that refuse to make improvements could face enforcement, for example a penalty payment (last onder dwangsom) to force improvement. The plan also aims to cut unnecessary red tape and make renewal easier for zoos that invest.
“It is therefore important that zoos keep up with the times. Current rules often stand in the way of that progress,” Erkens said. He wants to cut unnecessary red tape and change the licensing system so that frontrunners get more room and laggards are brought into line.
The vision draws on talks the ministry has held in recent years with zoos, implementing organisations and animal welfare organisations, and on the view of the RDA on zoos. The revision of the system will be worked out further with these parties.