Adelaide Zoo

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Assistance Animal application

Assistance Animals Guide

Adelaide Zoo works with a range of assistance animal organisations to welcome trained assistance animals at Adelaide Zoo. To help ensure a safe and enjoyable visit for you, your assistance animal and the animals at Adelaide Zoo, please watch the guide below, which explains the zone map and traffic light system.

A transcript of the video is available below.

Preparing for your visit

This video gives you a guide to safely bringing your assistance animal to Adelaide Zoo, for the latest information please visit adelaidezoo.com.au/accessibility or call 08 8267 3255.

In preparing to welcome you and your assistance animal, we’ve taken the time to explore the behavioural realities of what you can expect as you connect with nature here at the Zoo. We want you and your animal to feel as at home with us as the 250 different species that live in our lush eight hectares, so we’ve set up specific investigations to work out how we can support everyone to have a safe and enjoyable time.

To do this, we partnered with our friends at See Differently, Royal Society for the Blind to bring accredited trained guide dogs on site to meet the zoo animals: we wanted to know what might happen when a lion meets a Labrador!

Adelaide staff member welcoming a visitor and their guide dog

a visitor approaching Adelaide Zoo admissions desk with their guide dog

Creating positive interactions

Together with See Differently, we set up carefully managed encounters during which we assessed the responses with different species that may occur across the zoo.

Many animals are naturally interested in new things, and the same can be said for your dog as for our dingoes! Sometimes this interest can be positive and enriching, and other times this can have negative outcomes, by following the Assistance Animal zone map, you, your assistance animal, and the animals that call Adelaide Zoo home, will have the most rewarding and safest interactions.

Understanding the traffic light system

To guide your visit, we have developed a traffic light system so you know where you and your assistance animal can go. Red – no entry for assistance animals, orange – more caution needed in these spaces, green – good to go.

a guide dog at Adelaide Zoo with an overlay graphic titled Red Zones

Red Zones

Red Zones, these are restricted areas where assistance animals cannot visit. This is due to either biosecurity agreements with certain conservation programs, or the higher possibility of a negative interaction between a zoo and an assistance animal which can result in a bad welfare outcome for both sides.

a guide dog at Adelaide Zoo with an overlay graphic titled Orange Zones

Orange Zones

Orange Zones, these are areas where you need to exercise some caution and may need to continue moving through the space. Orange zones include areas with low walls that form the perimeter of some habitat spaces where your assistance animal may be able to see over these walls and as some of the animals living there are small, fast and furry. By practicing extra care to ensure your animal stays by your side and maintaining a short leash your animal and our animal will have a more positive experience.

a guide dog at Adelaide Zoo with an overlay graphic titled Green Zones

Green Zones

Green Zones, these are areas where we witnessed a range of behaviours that suggested the zoo animals will have a neutral or positive reaction to the presence of an assistance animal as long as human care givers help their assistance animal to be successful.

Other important information

Some other important things you need to know:

  • If you’re using food treats to reward your assistance animal’s behaviour, please do not share these with the zoo animals – they have specialised diets developed by our nutritionist.
  • If at any time a zoo animal moves away from your assistance animal with abrupt speed or moves towards them in with vocalising and rapid, jerky movements, please move your animal away and allow your animal to take a few minutes to calm down before continuing.
  • Please follow the toileting guidelines on your zoned map, or see a member of staff on the day of your visit.
  • Assistance animals are welcome to attend a range of Keeper Talks, please see the current list on your zoned map.

 

Next steps

So, now you’re ready to visit, for next steps please visit adelaidezoo.com.au/accessibility or call 08 8267 3255 to check the current accreditation requirements.

We look forward to welcoming you and your assistance animal to Adelaide Zoo soon.

Apply to visit

Apply to visit

Assistance Animal Access Disclaimer

Owners of an Assistance Animal must provide proof that their animal is trained by a Zoos SA approved accredited training body and agree to the terms below:

  • My assistance dog has been resident in Australia for the last 6 months or has received an annual vaccination against rabies, has received an annual vaccination for standard canine diseases (including canine distemper and parvovirus), has received anthelmintic treatment in the last six months and has not shown any signs of disease, including vomiting or diarrhoea, in the last 24 hours.
  • I agree to adhere to the zone guide and refrain from entering restricted areas with my animal.
  • I understand that there are designated areas for my dog to toilet on site as outlined on the map and will ensure my dog adheres these.
  • I agree to keep my dog on a short leash at all times.
  • I understand that if my dog should start barking or growling it should be removed to an area where no zoo animals are present, until the animal stops vocalising.
  • If any animal shows signs of stress or alarm towards my dog, I understand I must step back and move on.
  • I understand that a Zoos SA staff member may request for me to move on to a different area if my animal is causing distress to zoo animals within this area.
  • I will report to the Adelaide Zoo admissions team on the day of our visit when I arrive.

Please complete this form a minimum of 5 business days in advance of intended visit.

We will endeavour to respond to your request by phone within 5 business days.

To complete the application via phone, please call 08 8267 3255 between 9.30am – 5pm. Adelaide Zoo uses National Relay Service.