Petition to Urge Japanese Government to Require Registration of Zoo Animal Handlers

From the Petition Site....please visit and sign.

The Ministry of the Environment is in the process of amending the Japanese animal protection law. The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) has proposed that the Ministry exempt JAZA's members from the current requirement to register as animal handlers with local authorities.

If JAZA member zoos and aquariums (89 zoos and 67 aquariums) are not registered as animal handlers under the Act, there is no other Japanese law that would oversee the operation of JAZA member institutions .The regulation of zoos would be the responsibility of JAZA itself. JAZA does not have the resources necessary to properly monitor their member institutions and they do not have the authority to ensure member compliance with their own guidelines and standards.