ROME, July 13, 2017 — Today, American Humane, the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare and well-being, announced that Zoomarine Italia has achieved certification by the American Humane Conservation program, becoming only the second Humane Certified™ institution in Europe.
The American Humane Conservation program is the first-ever certification program singularly dedicated to helping ensure the well-being and humane treatment of animals living in zoos and aquariums across the world. The program enforces comprehensive, evidence-based welfare standards developed by an independent Scientific Advisory Committee comprised of world-renowned leaders in the fields of animal science, animal behavior, animal ethics, and conservation.
“We are thrilled to announce the certification under American Humane Conservation of Zoomarine, a world-class institution dedicated to the responsible, humane treatment of the remarkable animals in its care,” said American Humane President and CEO Dr. Robin Ganzert. “Zoomarine’s commitment to meeting the highest standards of humane, verifiable, and transparent animal care is a distinction of which we should all be proud.”
“We are proud of the result, which is an extraordinary and authoritative acknowledgment of Zoomarine’ s philosophy of action,” said Renato Lenzi, Managing Director of Zoomarine Italy. “This certificate attests to the park’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare. It is with great pride that we receive this certification confirming our commitment to ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare while we share daily extraordinary interactive educational experiences and raise awareness for environmental conservation with all our guests. The company is committed to protecting the well-being of host animals and raising awareness about conservation. I thank all the staff because this certification recognizes the work of all our operators who pursue excellence with passion and expertise.”
The American Humane Conservation program’s rigorous criteria help exhaustively verify the many dimensions of animal wellbeing, with areas of assessment including: excellent health and housing; positive social interactions within groups of animals, as well as between animals and handlers; safe and stimulating environments, enriched and with concern for factors such as appropriate lighting, sound levels, air quality, and thermoregulation; and evidence of thorough preparation and protocols established to prevent and manage medical or operational emergencies.
For added rigor, Zoomarine’s compliance with the American Humane Conservation standards was verified through an exhaustive audit. You can read more about the American Humane Conservation program here: http://humaneconservation.org/.
About American Humane
Founded in 1877, American Humane is the largest certifier of animal welfare in the world, positively touching the lives of some 1 billion animals each year. For more information about American Humane, please visit www.AmericanHumane.org.
About Zoomarine
Located close to Rome with 40 hectares of green and water, and an average of 600,000 visitors per year including 60,000 students, Zoomarine is one of the most important theme parks in Europe as well as one of the first Italian parks where entertainment and education are strongly combined. The park hosts dolphins, demonstrations with sea lions, seals, tropical birds, and birds of prey, as well as aquatic species such as penguins, pelicans and flamingos for a total of 295 animals of 45 different species. The first facility in Italy to receive “Zoological Garden” recognition in 2009, Zoomarine collaborates with 12 Italian universities in animal welfare and research projects and public awareness on the theme of environmental protection.
Dolphin Discovery, owner of Zoomarine, is the world’s leading marine mammal parks company. The group manages 27 theme parks in nine different countries around the world through the coordination of a global structure headquartered in Mexico and includes more of twenty years of experience thanks to an experienced international technical staff.
