Until 23 May 2027
Local-authority inspections continue against the 2012 Secretary of State's standards, with the 2017 elephant appendix. Meeting today's standards is still the immediate job.
Zoo Licensing Act 1981 — section 9 standards
The 2027 zoo standards are coming. Get inspection-ready.
The 2012 Standards of Modern Zoo Practice remain the inspection benchmark until 23 May 2027. From 24 May 2027, the new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain apply across England, Wales, and Scotland — and the adaptation window is open now.
The dates that matter
From 24 May 2027
The Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain — published 24 May 2025 — become the benchmark for England, Wales, and Scotland. One standard, GB-wide.
Phased to 2030 and 2040
Some species-specific requirements phase in later — practices such as tethering birds of prey are phased out by 1 January 2030, and larger elephant enclosure requirements apply from 1 January 2040. Anything you build or acquire now should be planned against them.
Preparation is mostly a records problem.
An inspector's question is rarely "do you care well" — it is "show me". The facilities that transition calmly will be the ones whose husbandry, veterinary, and enclosure records already answer it.
Track what applies to you
Work through the standards against your own collection and record which requirements apply, which don't, and where the evidence lives — so the gap list is yours, not the inspector's.
Evidence as a by-product
Daily care logs, enrichment, diets, veterinary history, and enclosure records accumulate as your team works — so inspection evidence is what the system already holds, not a scramble the fortnight before.
Reports for the council
Pull the records an inspection needs into shareable reports — per animal, per enclosure, or per topic — instead of walking the inspector through six binders.
The standards, cited
Both instruments live in the regulatory library — the 2012 standards and the 2027 GB standards — with the official GOV.UK publication a click away, so your team reads the source, not a paraphrase.
The honest boundary
The standards are the Secretary of State's, and your inspection is your local authority's. This page and the software help you organise records and read the official text — they are not legal advice, and how the standards apply to your facility is a conversation to have with your local authority and your counsel.
Two years goes quickly at a licensed collection.
Start the records now and May 2027 becomes an inspection like any other. We'll show you how UK facilities set it up.
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