Zoos licensed under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 are required to submit an animal inventory to their licensing authority by 1st April each year for the previous year. Why do they have to submit these inventories? What is the licensing authority supposed to do with the inventory?
ZLA 1981 & Animal Inventories
- Thread starter chimpman
- Start date
In reality - file it.
In theory - check the inventory for any issues which may arise.
I assume that one of the uses of these inventories is to help the Zoo Inspectors prepare for their actual inspection visit to the zoo.
All the material should be held for several years.
There is a statutory term for archiving usually at least 7 years.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Sometimes, but not always. In other areas, Local Authorities only go back 3 years. There appears to be nothing written in the ZLA, requiring retention of these inventories; they are not released under FIA requests; and nothing appears to be specified as to exactly what the LA should do with the data. As 'Gentle Lemur' says, it is an obvious aid to inspectors both annual and periodic, so you would expect they are kept for the six year duration of the license - but every LA is different and every team of inspectors has a different set of standards. No two zoos are are judged the same.