Jaguar (
Panthera onca)
Care Manual
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Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Appendix D: AZA Policy on Responsible Population Management
PREAMBLE
The stringent requirements for AZA accreditation, and high ethical standards of professional conduct, are
unmatched by similar organizations and far surpass the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service’s requirements for licensed animal exhibitors. Every AZA member
must abide by a Code of Professional Ethics (
https://www.aza.org/code-of-ethics
). In
order to continue
these high standards, AZA-accredited institutions and certified related facilities should make it a priority,
when possible, to acquire animals from and transfer them to other AZA member institutions, or members
of other regional zoo associations that have professionally recognized accreditation programs.
AZA-accredited institutions and certified related facilities cannot fulfill their important missions of
conservation, education, and science without live animals. Responsible management and the long-term
sustainability of living animal populations necessitates that some individuals be acquired and
transferred,
reintroduced or even humanely euthanized at certain times. The acquisition and transfer of animals
should be prioritized by the long-term sustainability needs of the species and AZA-managed populations
among AZA-accredited and certified related facilities, and between AZA member institutions and non-AZA
entities with animal care and welfare standards aligned with AZA. AZA member institutions that acquire
animals from the wild, directly or through commercial vendors, should perform due diligence to ensure
that such activities do not have a negative impact on species in the wild. Animals should
only be acquired
from non-AZA entities that are known to operate legally and conduct their business in a manner that
reflects and/or supports the spirit and intent of the AZA Code of Professional Ethics as well as this Policy.
I. INTRODUCTION
This AZA Policy on Responsible Population Management provides guidance to AZA members to:
1. Assure that animals from AZA member institutions and certified related facilities are not transferred to
individuals or organizations that lack the appropriate expertise or facilities to care for them [
see taxa
specific appendices (in development)],
2. Assure that the health and conservation of wild populations and ecosystems are carefully considered
as appropriate,
3. Maintain a proper standard of conduct for AZA members during acquisition and transfer/reintroduction
activities, including adherence to all applicable laws and regulations,
4. Assure that the health and welfare of individual animals is a priority during
acquisition and
transfer/reintroduction activities, and
5. Support the goals of AZA’s cooperatively managed populations and associated Animal Programs
[Species Survival Plans
®
(SSPs), Studbooks, and Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs)].
This AZA Policy on Responsible Population Management will serve as the default policy for AZA member
institutions. Institutions should develop their own Policy on Responsible Population Management in order
to address specific local concerns. Any institutional policy must incorporate and not conflict with the AZA
acquisition and transfer/transition standards.
II. LAWS, AUTHORITY, RECORD-KEEPING, IDENTIFICATION AND DOCUMENTATION
The following must be considered with regard to the acquisition or transfer/management of all living
animals and specimens (their living
and non-living parts, materials, and/or products):
Jaguar (
Panthera onca)
Care Manual
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Association of Zoos and Aquariums
1. Any acquisitions, transfers, euthanasia and reintroductions must meet the requirements of all
applicable local, state, federal and international laws and regulations. Humane euthanasia must be
performed in accordance with the established euthanasia policy of the institution and follow the
recommendations of current AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals (2013 Edition
https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Documents/euthanasia.pdf
) or the AAZV’s Guidelines on the
Euthanasia of Non-Domestic Animals. Ownership and any applicable
chain-of-custody must be
documented. If such information does not exist, an explanation must be provided regarding such
animals and specimens. Any acquisition of free-ranging animals must be done in accordance with all
local, state, federal, and international laws and regulations and must not be detrimental to the long-
term viability of the species in the wild.
2. The Director/Chief Executive Officer of the institution must have final authority for all acquisitions,
transfers, and euthanasia.
3. Acquisitions or transfers/euthanasia/reintroductions must be documented through institutional record
keeping systems. The ability to identify which animal is being transferred
is very important and the
method of identifying each individual animal should be documented. Any existing documentation must
accompany all transfers. Institutional animal records data, records guidelines have been developed
for certain species to standardize the process (
https://www.aza.org/idmag-documents-and-
guidelines
).
4. For some colonial, group-living, or prolific species, it may be impossible or highly impractical to
identify individual animals when these individuals are maintained in a group. These species can be
maintained, acquisitioned, transferred, and
managed as a group or colony, or as part of a group or
colony.
5. If the intended use of specimens from animals either living or non-living is to create live animal(s),
their acquisition and transfer should follow the same guidelines. If germplasm is acquired or
transferred with the intention of creating live animal(s), ownership of the offspring must be clearly
defined in transaction documents (e.g., breeding loan agreements).
Institutions acquiring, transferring or otherwise managing specimens should consider current and
possible future uses as new technologies become available. All specimens from which nuclear DNA
could be recovered should be carefully considered for preservation as these basic DNA extraction
technologies already exist.
6. AZA member institutions must maintain transaction documents (e.g., confirmation forms, breeding
agreements) which provide the terms and conditions of animal acquisitions, transfers and loans,
including
documentation for animal parts, products and materials. These documents should require
the potential recipient or provider to adhere to the AZA Policy on Responsible Population
Management, and the AZA Code of Professional Ethics, and must require compliance with the
applicable laws and regulations of local, state, federal, and international authorities.
7. In the case of animals (living or non-living) and their parts, materials, or products (living or non-living)
held on loan, the owner’s written permission should be obtained prior to any transfer and documented
in the institutional records.
8. AZA SSP and TAG necropsy and sampling protocols should be accommodated.
9. Some governments maintain ownership of the species naturally found within their borders. It is
therefore incumbent on institutions to determine whether animals they are acquiring or transferring
are owned by a government entity, foreign
or domestic, and act accordingly by reviewing the
government ownership policies available on the AZA website. In the case of government owned
animals, proposals for and/or notifications of transfers must be sent to the species manager for the
government owned species.