Accreditation and Animal Welfare Committee

The Accreditation and Animal Welfare Committee monitors and directs the activities of the Association’s Accreditation Program, reporting to and implementing directives from the Board of Management. Responsibilities of the committee extend across all areas of policy development, husbandry, administration and publications where they relate to accreditation and animal welfare issues.

The committee can comprise of up to nine members but currently has six, including a chairperson. Committee members are appointed by the Association's Board of Management for a three-year period. Each member must be able to bring to the Accreditation and Animal Welfare Committee some combination of the following:

• directorial experience
• curatorial experience
• knowledge of the development of institutional policies
• understanding of state licencing body issues
• thorough understanding of the Association's Accreditation Standards and Guidelines

The current members of the Accreditation and Animal Welfare Committee are:

Tony Billing Westshore Wildlife Reserve Tony has worked in the zoological community for nearly 30 years, and in the field of wildlife management since 1972. He is currently employed as the Parks and Reserves Manager for the Napier City Council (New Zealand), and manages over 100 Reserves in that region. In addition, Tony is also the Manager of the Kiwi Research and Captive Breeding Facility at Napier’s Westshore Wildlife Reserve and holds several other portfolios, some of which include; Chairman of the Kiwi Captive Management Advisory Committee; Kiwi Management Consultant to the National Aquarium of New Zealand; and a member of the ASZK Management Committee. Over the past three decades he has been extensively involved with Kiwi and has been a driving force behind several captive management issues, as well as a key contributor to many research and recovery projects involving this species. Tony has also held the position of Vice President for the Zoo and Aquarium Association, and did so for 13 consecutive years. In 2008 his contribution to the zoo community and to Kiwi conservation was acknowledged when he received the Zoo and Aquarium Association Award for Professional Excellence.

Peter Clark Monarto Zoo  Peter Clark began his association with animals and zoos whilst working in Papua New Guinea in the seventies where after involvement with agricultural and crocodile farming ventures he was responsible for establishing both a national village based wildlife business (The Insect Farming and Trading Agency) and PNG’s largest zoo (The Rainforest Habitat) for the PNG Government. After returning to Australia in 2003 he took up the position of Curator at Monarto Zoo then Senior Curator of both Adelaide and Monarto Zoos. Now an Associate Director for Zoos SA, Peter has recently been heavily involved in project work at Monarto including Zu-Loop, the new Chimpanzee exhibit and now with the ‘Wild Africa’ safari and accommodation project. For several years previously, Peter served as Vice President on the Zoo and Aquarium Association Board and has also served on international bodies such as the IUCN’s Conservation Breeding Specialist Group where he has been a member for over twelve years. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London, a Wildlife Conservation Associate of WCS (New York), a Paul Harris Fellow and currently sits on several SA native species recovery teams.

Simon Duffy Taronga Zoo Profile coming soon!

Simon Eyre Wellington Zoo Simon has been working in the zoo industry, both in the U.K. and New Zealand for 16 years. Simon is Wellington Zoo’s Collection Development Coordinator and has worked as a Taxon Advisory Group convenor both in Australasia and in the UK. He is currently a member of the ASMP Committee as well as the Convenor of the Associations's Miscellaneous Exotic Mammal TAG, and species coordinator for a number of ASMP programmes.In addition to his species management experience, Simon has a sound working knowledge of legislative issues in New Zealand and will assist the Committee in related matters.

Maria Finnigan Perth Zoo Maria Finnigan joined the Perth Zoo team in December 2007 and has an extensive background in ex-situ and in-situ management of fauna. Maria has performed a leadership role for the captive animal management programs of the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales and Auckland Zoological Park. Maria has also gained significant experience relating to in-situ conservation activities through her work with both chimpanzees and lions in Tanzania. In her current role as Director Life Sciences at Perth Zoo, Maria is responsible for leading the Life Sciences team to achieve high levels of performance in the care and management of the Perth Zoo animal collection and linked conservation priorities. Maria also continues a strong regional involvement as Australasian Species Management Program (ASMP) Coordinator for chimpanzees and as an Accreditation Officer for Zoo and Association.

Marnie Horton Sea World Profile coming soon!

Michael O'Brien Cairns Tropical Zoo Michael has been employed at Cairns Tropical Zoo for twenty years. He commenced as a keeper in the Reptile Department during which time he participated in the Reptile TAG and for the last six years has overseen the zoo collection and its development. Michael has been actively involved with the Queensland Wildlife Parks Association – now the Zoo and Aquarium Association Queensland Branch – in roles on the QSMP Committee, Standards Committee and Management Committee. Michael’s involvement in Association programs on behalf of Queensland soon saw Cairns Tropical Zoo become a Full Institutional Member of the Association. Michael is committed to ongoing industry improvement and as a result is enthusiastic about the implementation of Accreditation.

Accreditation program
AAWC Application Form