Zoo record-keeping: what the law actually requires

Who has to keep records?

If you exhibit wild animals to the public for seven or more days a year, you almost certainly need a zoo licence under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, and with it comes a duty to keep records. GOV.UK is blunt about it: you must keep up to date records of the animals in your zoo. The same duty runs across zoos, wildlife and safari parks, aquariums and many farm attractions.

1. The stock record (your collection)

The core requirement, under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 s.1A(f), detailed in SSSMZP 2012 §12 (Stock Records), is a current record of the collection itself. GOV.UK's guidance says your records must include the numbers of different animals and every acquisition, birth, death, disposal and escape. In practice, inspectors and the Standards expect each animal traceable by species, sex, date of birth, origin and identification, with acquisitions and disposals showing where an animal came from and went.

• Numbers held, by species
• Acquisitions and disposals (with source / destination)
• Births, deaths and any escapes
• Per-animal identity: species, sex, DOB, origin, identification

2. Daily husbandry records

The stock record is not enough on its own. The Standards of Modern Zoo Practice (SSSMZP 2012) require the people in direct charge of the animals to keep daily written records, noting things like changes to the prescribed diet and the health checks carried out. This is the day-to-day welfare trail: feeds, weights, treatments and observations, kept as they happen rather than reconstructed later. A revised standard, the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain 2025 (SoMZP-GB 2025), comes into force on 24 May 2027.

3. What an inspector can ask for

On inspection, the Act gives inspectors the power to require the production of all records of the zoo's collection kept by the operator. A local-authority audit typically reviews the operation of the premises, the collection, staff and their qualifications, and, every time, record keeping. The practical test is simple: can you produce a current, complete, credible record on the day, without a week of preparation?

Where paper and spreadsheets fall down

Most collections start with a mix of paper day-books in the keeper huts, a spreadsheet on the office laptop and a whiteboard that gets half-wiped by lunchtime. It all works, right up until inspection day, when someone has to gather it into one place and hope nothing was missed. The records exist; they just aren't ready. That gap between "logged somewhere" and "ready to hand over" is exactly what causes the scramble.

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