The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department has responsibility for implementation of the European Communities (Licensing and Inspection of Zoos) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 440/2003) which deal with the inspection, licensing and regulation of zoos and aquaria. These Regulations transpose the EU Zoos Directive, giving effect in the national context to the EU Zoo Directive (Directive 1999/22/EC of 29 March 1999 of the Council of the European Union).
As defined under European Directive 1999/22/EC a zoo is a permanent establishment where animals of wild species are kept for exhibition to the public for 7 or more days a year, with the exception of circuses, pet shops (as defined above) and establishments, which Member States exempt from the requirements of this Directive on the grounds that they do not exhibit a significant number of animals or species to the public, and that the exemption will not jeopardise the objectives of this Directive.
Where a permanent establishment is closed to the public but maintains a collection of wild animals kept for the purposes of exhibition to the public external to the facility, on 7 or more days in a twelve month period, then the holding facility is classed as a zoo with regards to these regulations. This includes ‘Hawk Walks’, ‘Mobile Zoos’ and other similar operations.
A significant majority of the licenced zoos in Ireland that offer hawk walks or bird of prey exhibits operate on an appointment only basis and are not open to the public generally. These facilities have held zoo licences for a number of years. Any similar facility would require a zoo licence.
