BREXIT issues 2023

TriUK

TriUK

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
When talking to customer relations staff at my local zoo (Paignton) about empty enclosures and small groups of animals, one of the main reasons given is that BREXIT is having a devastating impact on animal transfers.
Whilst reading the Banham thread earlier, I read the following quote from the link:


ZSEA said Brexit had led to significantly less movement of animals between the UK and other countries, with only 211 transfers taking place in 2022, compared to the usual 1,400 per year.

"This drastic reduction, which is almost 85%, is a direct result of the new regulations enforced since Brexit and greatly affects the conservation efforts of not only us but also other zoos around the country," ZSEA stated.

I found the numbers here quite shocking. I do hope BIAZA have some government support in response to lobbying? I really fear for the future of U.K. zoos due to the barriers caused by BREXIT.
 
A few weeks on the BBC local politics program for the Southern region they had a representative from Marwell talking about this. They said that in 2019 they had a total of 32 animal transfers either to or from zoos on the continent. In 2002 it was 4. They also said that the amount of admin and paperwork required means that handling it is now a full time job and they have had to employ somebody to do it.
 
NMM said:
A few weeks on the BBC local politics program for the Southern region they had a representative from Marwell talking about this. They said that in 2019 they had a total of 32 animal transfers either to or from zoos on the continent. In 2002 it was 4. They also said that the amount of admin and paperwork required means that handling it is now a full time job and they have had to employ somebody to do it.
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Are the numbers wrong here?
 
NMM said:
A few weeks on the BBC local politics program for the Southern region they had a representative from Marwell talking about this. They said that in 2019 they had a total of 32 animal transfers either to or from zoos on the continent. In 2002 it was 4. They also said that the amount of admin and paperwork required means that handling it is now a full time job and they have had to employ somebody to do it.
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I recall that article detailed how their new male giraffe is unable to receive a viable mate as there are none currently available ... I'd imagine the same is true for quite a few of Marwell's other species ... I do hope this can be resolved soon. But I did feel that maybe Parliament was not truly appreciative of their zoos as institutions when they classed them merely as 'entertainment' in 2020 - yet museums somehow were considered differently !
 
TriUK said:
Are the numbers wrong here?
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Quite possibly. It is going by what I remember them saying.

I remember them now talking about the giraffes. The female that the breeding program had identified was on the continent (didn't say where) but that all seemed stuck in bureaucratic limbo. They had no idea if it will end up happening or not. I also now remember them saying it isn't just an administrative nightmare for the zoos themselves, but also for the haulage or logistics companies that transport the animals.
 
TriUK said:
ZSEA said Brexit had led to significantly less movement of animals between the UK and other countries, with only 211 transfers taking place in 2022, compared to the usual 1,400 per year.

"This drastic reduction, which is almost 85%, is a direct result of the new regulations enforced since Brexit and greatly affects the conservation efforts of not only us but also other zoos around the country," ZSEA stated.

I found the numbers here quite shocking. I do hope BIAZA have some government support in response to lobbying? I really fear for the future of U.K. zoos due to the barriers caused by BREXIT.
Click to expand...

Highland Wildlife Park recently highlighted this issue also, using the example of surplus male Bactrian Wapiti they hold, that are needed in other groups in Europe but there is a logjam in exporting them.
 
As a private keeper of various exotics I can confirm Brexit has made it incredibly difficult to import animals from the EU. Particularly CITES species, mainly due to import/export paperwork that was not required before. This trade then also requires customs clearances, which again was not required before due to EU free-trade.

The other issue is staff training and the imposing of the rules; even though I followed all the rules and had all the required paperwork and declarations I got held at French customs and was not permitted to leave France for an extra 12/15 hours and had to spend a night in a hotel room with animals in transit due to them simply not knowing what to do with the paperwork and being unable to contact a supervisor due to it being 'out of hours'.

Though it is definitely becoming easier, I believe part of it was simply it wasn't a very high priority for the government. Movement of zoo animals and privately owned animals were quite low on the list compared to food, fuel, electricity etc etc.
When I was at UK customs around this time last year an agent told me that some of the lorries containing shipments of clothes (leather) were being held there for a few days whilst all the paperwork was being processed, he said it was a nightmare and they didn't have enough staff.
 
Appreciate there's not an abundance of Rothschild females available in the UK but there must be one or two within the UK that are suitable?

M'boro is the chosen bull and his parents are Meru x Dagmar who I believe believe both came from Europe. He only has one full sister and a one half sister that I can think of unless both parents come from well represented bloodlines
 
Export/import of exotic animals outside the EU was always tied with a ton of documents and satisfying a lot of special requirements.

After Brexit, the UK is now in the same group of countries like Russia or Israel. But, the UK had anough time to prepaire itself. It took literaly years inbetween referendum and exit from the EU. What were people doing?
 
Just a reminder to all members that political discussions are strictly forbidden on ZooChat.

Discussions of a political nature specifically relating to zoos is the only exception - but the discussion must be about the zoos themselves, not about the politics or about politicians. Any post which does not meet this criteria will be deleted.

To be clear: this thread about the ongoing effect of Brexit on zoos is a perfectly acceptable exception to the "no politics" rule. All posts that were about the politicians or about Brexit itself have been deleted.
 
Yes I posted before in the Welsh mountain zoo thread
They have been unable to bring in a mate for their male Snow Leopard even though a suitable mate was available in Poland, the keepers are finding it difficult and frustrating
Apparently the UK government even now hasn’t sorted out the paperwork system for import and export of exotic animals
I thought that it was just smaller zoos that were struggling with this but chatting to a keeper in chester zoo they are having issues as well
 
Dublin & Belfast zoological societies working together to ‘make things happen’ in the good of conservation?
 
Is there anyone on this forum that could give an update as to whether the situation with transfer import/export paperwork & admin has improved, or whether it’s due to improve in the light of a new Government in the U.K.?
 
I have no idea if there are any impending changes to UK´s legislation to make transfers over the border to the EU easier.

But I found this little sentence in Dvur Kralove´s annual report a sign that logistic departments of continental zoos slowly adapt to Brexit and we might see increase in transfers. But of course, more red tape also means higher transport costs (compared to before brexit), indefinitely.

Our priority for 2024 is to complete the formalities required to operate animal transports between the European Union and Great Britain, primarily the approval of (our) vehicles.
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Source
 
TriUK said:
Is there anyone on this forum that could give an update as to whether the situation with transfer import/export paperwork & admin has improved, or whether it’s due to improve in the light of a new Government in the U.K.?
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The situation has not improved at all. Road transports are only now made by a couple of companies, who appear to have the contacts to be able to get through the French border at Calais. Most zoos do not risk it now because of the uncertainty.
There are no moves from the UK to Holland by road, as the Dutch never built the promised border post, so all road moves have to be done via Calais.
Air-freight is easier, but still very slow as full CITES permits for spp so listed have to be obtained from both sides, and the UK authorities now question permits produced abroad and extra information has to be supplied.
Bird movements to the EU are pretty much impossible as the EU now requires specific country linked micro-chips which are not actually available from the suppliers.
Importing to the UK is generally easier, even if prices have risen by up to 500% - as most of the issues have been caused by the EU introducing restrictions on imports, which are not there in reverse.
The move alluded to above by Dvur Kralove is to be welcomed, as CZ transporters are not as likely to be penalised at Calais in the same way UK ones are. I understand that a major UK supplier of gift-shop merchandise has stopped suppling French and Spanish zoos because 50% of its lorries were being turned back at Calais; but the same company is now a major supplier to CZ zoos, using the same products with the same documentation - but moved by CZ hauliers who are never stopped at all.
 
dillotest0 said:
So is movement anywhere possible then?
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It would appear so, as lots of interesting birds are being imported into CZ and other countries.
It may be that these country specific micro-chip identifications for other non-EU countries, are only being applied to the UK - or than some sort of exemption is allowed case by case. I was told that exports of birds to Denmark from the UK had to be cancelled last year, because of the micro-chipping issue.
I havent heard that bird import regulations INTO the UK have been changed, but these used to require the country of export being free of AI and Newcastle disease, and pre-export and post import blood-tests being done. These can be hugely expensive as only certain labs are approved, and are invasive and stressful for the birds themselves.
Once birds and indeed other animals are freely available on the mainland, then there is little to stop private owners chancing bringing back a few in their private cars - not of course a model that zoos can use; but perhaps an explanation as to why such a range of spp are still available privately in the UK.
Another area which is difficult is the new legislation the UK has introduced on newt and salamander imports, to protect same from fungus infection - from what I was told by a keeper, there have been no licenced imports since this was introduced.
 
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TriUK said:
Is there anyone on this forum that could give an update as to whether the situation with transfer import/export paperwork & admin has improved, or whether it’s due to improve in the light of a new Government in the U.K.?
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I think it's a bit soon somehow. The new PM was only elected last month, and already he has his first major 'public duty' to attend to ....
but enough of that!
 
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