Wednesday, April 10
General Session - The State of the State of AZA Safety
8:00 am - 9:00 am
AZA has always had a commitment to safe practices to ensure the wellbeing of our employees, guests and animals in our care. This session will launch the Midyear Safety Summit with presentations from AZA members committed to establishing a culture of safety in each and every member institution.
OSHA and Other Acronyms
9:30 am - 10:45 am
This session will include presentations by industry experts knowledgeable on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements affecting our institutions.
Conures, Cooties, and Common Sense
10:45 am - 12:00 pm
In a joint session with the Avian Scientific Advisory Group (ASAG), safety topics such as zoonotic disease, service animal accessibility, and avian aggression issues in walk through aviaries will be discussed.
Best Practices in Zoo Safety Programs
1:15 pm - 2:45 pm
An effective occupational safety and health program can result in fewer injuries and illnesses, better morale and lower worker’s compensation insurance premiums, among other benefits. This information-packed workshop offers best practices organizations need to maintain / improve their safety programs. Attendees will get a comprehensive understanding of how to respond to emerging safety/ security topics of interest and compliance concerns across the zoo industry. Gain piece of mind-and establish a safer facility using solid strategies and essential information you receive in this must attend session!
Aquarium Risk is Worth the Reward!
2:45 pm- 4:00 pm
This session will explore the challenges and rewards of developing a Risk Assessment and Management strategy for your institution. This information is extremely important and applicable for zoos as well. Additionally, a Round Table consisting of Dive Safety professionals will field questions to assist zoos and aquariums with development of sound dive safety protocols.
Aquarium Best Practices
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
The Aquarium Best Practices group has worked to identify safety items more specific to aquatic environments. Safety concerns address risk management to guests, staff and volunteers, as well as to the animals in our care. Risk management may include such items as swim-with and dive programs in exhibits with collection animals, touch tanks, zoonotic disease organisms and various chemicals. The increasing awareness and attention to safety concerns is welcome and should be embraced by all AZA facilities.
Thursday, April 11
Best Practices in Planning for Managing Animal Escapes and Results of an AZA-Wide Survey
8:00 am - 9:30 am
What are your peers doing to prepare for and respond to dangerous animal escapes? This session will discuss the results of an extensive AZA-wide survey on animal escape issues. Additionally, immobilization techniques for escaped animals will be examined. Discussion of the Incident Command System (ICS), with an overview of differing applications of the ICS, and commonly used ICS terminology will be covered.
- What are your peers doing to prepare for and respond to dangerous animal escapes? This session will overview the data collected from almost 70 AZA organizations. You will see consolidated data on where we are all alike and where we are different in our responses to this important topic. This session will also explore the takeaway messages that the safety committee gained from reading almost 70 escape policies. Learn what surprised us and what we thought were trend-setting best practices.
•Bob Chastain, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
•Lynn Cox, Detroit Zoo
•Pat Waickman, Akron Zoo
- How is immobilization different for animals that escape versus animals that are contained? In this session you will learn how these situations are different and what this means to your planning, equipment needs and drug selections.
•Staff Member, Safe Captures
- This session will take a look at the Incident Command System and what it means to use it, with an overview of differing applications of the ICS, variations in the use of commonly used ICS terminology, and comments on whether these differences matter or not.
•Rene Martin, Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Safety Summit - Hot Topics and Future Directions
9:30 am -11:00 am
This session will summarize key points from the Summit, which will be used to set the agenda for your AZA Safety Committee into the future. Additionally, The Safety Committee is pleased to feature a presentation by Dr. Jimmy Tickel, with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Dr. Tickel is a nationally known expert and speaker on preparedness and response.