How ZIMS can help with your ALPZA accreditation.

1. General Standards (G)

G-4 and G-5 Animal Population Plan
“[The animal population plan] must contain a detailed, ordered and updated list of the animals kept in the institution.”

• Inventory Summary Report – this report provides an up to date list of all the animals held at an institution on a set date or date range. – help document
• Animal Simple Search and Column Customisation – use the animal simple search and set the search parameters to: Local and Current animals – Owned and Onsite & On site, but not Owned. Click Search. The search results can be exported, and will have details on every individual/group of animals at your institution. Add and remove columns from the search results to provide information as needed. Search help document and Column customisation help document .

G-6, G-7, G-8 and G-9 Policy for the acquisition and disposal of animals and plants
“The origin and transaction of animals and plants must be legal, documented and ethically managed; promoting individuals from the institution to go to other institutions where animal welfare is also taken care of.”

• Transaction Report – use this report to create a list of all acquisitions and dispositions to/from your institution within a set time range. - help document
• Permits and Global Permit Report - Permits related to possession or transport can be reported on an animals profile in the permits box. A list of all permits for your institution can be retrieved using the Global Permit Report. – help document
   

G-10, G-11 and G-12 Identification and registration of individuals.

“ In order to provide follow-up and individual attention to each animal in the population, it is very important to have methods for individual or population traceability, genetic-demographic and records that allow measuring animal welfare, or those that report important management events of the animals.”

• Pedigree Explorer – this report can be used to track population and genetic-demographic records for any animals where parents have been recorded. - help document
• Care and Welfare - this module allows institutions to create welfare indicators they wish to track for institutional animals and create graphs to display any recorded welfare data. – help document

• Notes and Observations – Use this tab on an animals record to record management events for an animal. – help document
• Note Retrieval Report - This report can be utilised to retrieve Notes and Observations between set date ranges, by taxa , enclosure etc. – help document

“For most aquarium organisms, or for that matter some invertebrates, individual marking is not an option. However, there is an identification of specimens or groups of specimens through photographs or individual recognition. In the case of marine mammals, sharks, rays, etc. If identification by chip is possible, in which case it is required.”
“In the case of amphibians, for certain species or individuals, individual marking can be very complex, so photographs can be used when the organisms have unique color patterns or spots that can help with their identification.”

• Physical identifiers such as microchips can be recorded in the animals record in the Identifiers box. - help document
• Photos can be added to an animals record for use in identification purposes. – help document

“In the event that very large groups are managed, and the species does not allow the recognition of color patterns or spots, it is possible to manage them in groups, identifying the enclosures in which each group is housed.”

• The Enclosure module in ZIMS allows users to record where each individual and group are housed within an institution. – help document
• Enclosure reports will retrieve information on Enclosures and which groups/individuals are housed within them with information such as Local ID, Global Accession Number and Group Size. - help document

2. Research (I)

I-1 and I-2 Research development

“It is essential that every institution has a clear policy or research program for conservation that is consistent with the Code of Ethics of ALPZA and that does not compromise animal welfare. The knowledge generated from research must be disseminated and made available to the community for the benefit of conservation and/or animal welfare efforts.

• Alongside research that is carried out by your institution, find out more about how your ZIMS data is contributing to research and publications around the world through Species360 Conservation Science Alliance .

3. Conservation (C)

C-8 and C-9 Rescue and rehabilitation

“Attach a list of the rescue and rehabilitation work carried out by the institution in the last 12 months”

• Rescue/Rehabilitation collection - Separate collections can be created under your institution for Rescue/Rehabilitation, if you choose, this collection can have a Local Scope so animals do not appear in global searches by other institutions. – help document
• Inventory Summary Report – exporting this report for the Rescue/Rehabilitation collection between a set date range would provide a summary of any species held in this collection within the last 12 months, alongside transactions such as acquisitions/births and dispositions/deaths. – help document
• Transaction Reports - For a more in depth look at transactions for this collection a Transaction Report could also be exported. – help document

4. Conservation Education Standards (EC)

EC-8 Educational dissemination

“The institution must have the necessary educational and/or interpretive supports”

• ZIMS logins can be created for all staff members including Education Staff. Read Only access can be granted, allowing the Education Staff access to the local and global data.

5. Sustainability Standards (S)

S-3, S-4 and S-5 Management of tributaries and effluents

“It is extremely important to have protocols that indicate the entry of quality water for replacement, as well as the proper disposal of effluents. It is especially important in waters where chlorine, ozone, conditioners, or any chemicals are used during aquarium operation, particularly in quarantines, treatment areas, and drug use.”

“For aquariums and/or aquatic species, is there a comprehensive water monitoring and management program?”

• Enclosure Treatment Record - Utilising the Enclosure Module information pertaining to use of water treatments and drug use can be recorded through the Enclosure Treatment Record for each enclosure. – help document
• Water Quality Measurements – water quality can be recoded through the Water Quality Measurements box on an Enclosure Record, these can also be exported to Excel and Viewed as a Graph. – help document
• Measurement Range Templates – by creating these users can receive email notifications if water quality measurements fall outside your expected ranges. – help document

6. Security Standards

There are no resources in ZIMS currently that are highly beneficial to producing documents relevant to the Safety Standards outline by ALPZA in this document.

7. Animal Welfare Standards (BA)

BA-5, BA-6, BA-7 and BA-8 Evaluation of the animal welfare of the population

“Animal welfare must be systematically recorded by the personnel responsible for the direct handling of the animals (caretakers, keepers or wildlife guards). You must record important events associated with the well-being of the animals on a daily basis. The record must contain at least data on:
Identification of the individual/group, Date, News: General condition, Food, Behavior (exploratory, play, sexual activity, among others), Health and physical alterations, Maintenance and infrastructure (facility requirements), Escapes, Other relevant data, Name of the person filling out the record.”

• Notes and Observations - Each animal and group of animals at your institution has an individual record where information on daily observations can be recorded in the Notes and Observations page. Categories include: Animal Care, Animal Events, Communication, Enrichment, Diet, Development and more. – help document
• Note Retrieval Report - This report can be utilised to retrieve Notes and Observations between set date ranges, by taxa , enclosure etc. – help document
• ZIMS for Medical – this module allows animal health to be recorded though clinical notes, prescriptions, samples, diagnoses and procedures. – help document

“If the animal population has the following species: large carnivores, bears, elephants, great apes, cetaceans, pinnipeds, giraffes, hippos and rhinoceroses, these must be included in the animal welfare evaluation.”

• Care and Welfare - ZIMS provides a dedicated module to track welfare for species in your institution. Using the Care and Welfare module you can track specific indicators of welfare over time, and produce graphs to monitor these. – help document

BA-9, BA-10, BA-11 and BA-12 Behavior

“ALPZA member institutions must promote positive experiences for animals in their care, encouraging opportunities to choose positive activities.”
“Animals must express exploratory behaviors and have the opportunity to develop breeding behaviors, as long as reproduction is contemplated within the population management plan. The institution must provide the conditions for the animal to sleep in sufficient quantity and quality according to the needs of the species, with special attention to nocturnal species that require special conditions for this purpose.”

• Care and Welfare – to track Exploritory behavior , configure existing indicators such as ‘Use of Environment’ to monitor how much of the available space an animal typically makes use of. - help document
• Pedigree explorer – Users can export pedigree explorers detailing descendants as evidence of Rearing Young and therefore demonstrate the animals have had the opportunity to develop breeding behaviours – help document
• Contraception – evidence of contraception methods may be useful to demonstrate the animals ability to engage in species appropriate sexual activities while still preventing unwanted births. – help document
• Note Retrieval report – this report can be used to collate any notes recorded for your animals. Run the report to retrieve information that evidences sexual activity. Filtering the report by various note types (Communication, Reproduction, Parental) will help create a complete picture of opportunities to develop breeding behaviours for your individual animals or taxa.  – help document
• Enclosure module – Enclosure Status tab can be used to track ‘on exhibit’ and ‘off exhibit’ and the Furniture tab allows users to record information about any refuges provided for animals.

BA-13, BA-14, BA-15, BA-16 and BA-17 Environmental enrichment

“There must be evidence of environmental stimulation programs for the species”

“Do environmental enrichment programs have systematic records or measurements, based on scientific evidence of animal welfare, and that include the evaluation and analysis of their results to implement the necessary readjustments?”

• Enrichment – use the Enrichment box on an animals record to record and review enrichment items and sessions. Information on enrichment category and goal can be recorded, alongside the animals reaction to the enrichment. – help document

BA-18 and BA-19 Animal training.

“The method used to train animals for handling and presentation purposes must adhere to the Code of Ethics from ALPZA. It is necessary to have a written policy that determines the conditions under which this activity must be carried out. Additionally, a record of planning, execution and results must be kept.”

• Training – Use the Training box on an animals record to keep track of any methods used for training. Information on training purpose and status can be recorded, and progress can be monitored by logging each training session. – help document

BA-27 and BA-28 Individual medical records

“ The basis of a healthy animal population is a preventive medicine program, which must consider the medical history of the species and the animal population. Digital records (computerized records management system) must be current, historical and have duplicates. Due to the practical and legal relevance of these documents, their duplication (physical or digital) is essential, as well as their safekeeping in different places in order to guarantee their existence.”

• ZIMS for Medical – this module allows animal health to be recorded though clinical notes, prescriptions, samples, diagnoses and procedures and more, records can be kept for animals accessioned as individuals as well as in groups. – help document
• The ZIMS database is hosted at a secure, offsite facility. ZIMS data is backed-up at multiple physical locations and stored on a fault tolerant, expandable storage area network, featuring RAID 5 disk array with hot swappable spare drives. It is backed-up on a daily basis with maximum care given to protect our member’s data in case of an emergency. – more information

BA-29, BA-30, BA-31, BA-32 and BA-33 Preventive and curative veterinary medicine programs.

“There must be a program that includes a written schedule of preventive medicine activities that includes deworming, immunization, and monitoring (periodic management, with special emphasis on handling animals for contact activities).”

• ZIMS for Medical/Calendar – Within this module Vets can use the My Calendar feature to plan many medical activities, including prescriptions (deworming, immunization), procedures, sample collection. This can be managed by Enclosures too if a focus on walk-through enclosures is required. – help document

BA-37 and BA-38 Pharmacy/drug warehouse

“There must be an inventory of drugs, with a control system that ensures that the necessary supplies are available at all times, and that they are replaced before their expiration.”

• ZIMS for Medical Pharmacy Inventory – Utilise this feature to keep an up to date records of drugs at your institution, the feature also include and Pharmacy Inventory Report so you can easily export inventories as needed – help document

BA-39, BA-40, BA-41, BA-42 and BA-43 Quarantine

“There must be an area isolated from the hospital and the rest of the animal population. It must be for the exclusive use of reception and temporary maintenance of animals, and not to house animals for long periods or while they are being medically treated.”

• Enclosures – Create quarantine enclosures within ZIMS that represent quarantine enclosures at your institution. When animals go into this quarantine enclosure, this can be logged through the enclosure moves box on the animals record. Use the Occupants tab in the enclosure record to view the occupant history and time spent there, this history can be exported to Excel if required. – Enclosure move help document and Enclosure occupant help document

BA-46, BA-47, BA-48 and BA-49 Necropsies

“For individuals from the permanent animal population that die: A necropsy must be performed. The results found must be documented. The cause of death must be identified. If a tissue bank exists, samples should be stored for retrospective studies.”

• ZIMS for Medical Necropsy – Use the Necropsy feature to record all necropsies carried out for your institution, information on manner of death and relevant death information can be recorded. – help document
• Morbidity and Mortality Analyis – use this medical resource to view Relevant Death Information analysis for animals at you institution. This analysis will graph the most frequent causes of death for you institution by Taxonomy and for set date ranges. – Relevant death information help document and Medical resources ppt.
• Sample storage - this module allows an institution to track what samples they have stored, the location of those samples and whether the sample has been reserved for a specific purpose or project. – help document

BA-50, BA-51, BA-52, BA-53, BA-54, BA-55, BA-56, BA-57, BA-58, BA-59, BA-60, BA-61 and BA- 62 Nutrition and food

“It is critically important to periodically evaluate the consumption of the offered foods based on a system of records of consumption, body condition and/or weight, and the analysis of feces as appropriate, to make the necessary adjustments in the diets of each animal or group, and in this way promote their good nutrition and at the same time minimize food waste and losses. These records must be digital and supported by the personnel in charge.”

• Feed Log – Utilise the feed log box within an animals record to track amount of feed provided and consumed. - help document
• Weight – record animal body weights through the animal record. – help document
• Body Condition Score – record an animals body condition score. – help document
• Care and Welfare – this module can be used to create indicators and templates for tracking fecal observations in a way that can be graphed. – help document
• Notes and Observations – As a simpler alternative to care and welfare, use this tab in the animal record to record any information on Fecal observations. This data would not be possible to export directly to a graph but can be retrieved using a Note Retrieval Report. – help document
• Animal Graphing Tool – This tool can compile data from the feed log, weights, body condition score and care and welfare indicators into graphs which can allow users to see how these data points are impacting one another. – help document