After writing about the Dubai Aquarium's shark problem, I decided to follow-up with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) regarding the Aquarium's stocking plan and husbandry practices.
I approached WAZA because I had been told by the public relations staff of the Dubai Mall (where the Aquarium is located) that the Dubai Aquarium was "developed in line with an accepted Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare Policy prescribed by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums." I was somewhat surprised by what I learned.
WAZA is an international organization developed to "guide, encourage and support the zoos and aquariums of the world in animal care and welfare, environmental education and global conservation." Institutions such as the Dubai Aquarium may seek institutional membership in WAZA (roughly 200 zoos and aquaria are currently institutional members of WAZA) or they may choose to seek membership in a regional or national Association Member of WAZA (about 1100 zoos and aquaria are connected to the WAZA network in this manner). Given the Dubai Aquarium's proactive statement about being in line with WAZA's accepted Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare, I was surprised when WAZA told me the Dubai Aquarium "is neither a member of WAZA nor a member of a relevant regional association."
In response to my inquiry to WAZA regarding the Association's insight into the Dubai Aquarium's shark issues, Sabine Gyger of the WAZA Executive Office in Switzerland told me, "we don't have a legal basis or direct influence to do something to improve the husbandry conditions [at the Dubai Aquarium]." It is interesting to me that the Aquarium chooses to cite that their husbandry practices are in keeping with an Association to which it does not belong in any way, shape or fform.
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