The accreditation commission of the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EARAZA) was on a mission in Ashgabat from September 24 to 28.

The main goal of the visit was to assess the compliance of the National Museum of Wildlife of Turkmenistan (Ashgabat Zoo) with international standards for its inclusion in EARAZA, the correspondent of Turkmenportal reports.

The commission, headed by the General Director of the Moscow Zoo, EARAZA President Svetlana Akulova, included EARAZA Executive Director Vladimir Frolov, Chief Veterinarian of the Moscow Zoo Dmitry Egorov and Head of the Surgut Zoo Alexander Prokofiev.

During the visit, members of the accreditation committee held meetings with the management and specialists of the Ashgabat Zoo, inspected its territory, enclosures, and familiarized themselves with the routine and rules for caring for the inhabitants of the enclosures and aquariums.

Having collected the necessary material on the compliance of the Ashgabat Zoo with international standards, members of the EARAZA accreditation committee will prepare a review for submission to the Welfare, Ethics and Membership Committee, which in turn will raise the issue of membership at the EARAZA Presidium. As Svetlana Akulova noted, it is possible that a decision on the membership of the Ashgabat Zoo will be made by December of this year.

The Russian guests also brought a selection of specialized books and reference books on zoology for the Ashgabat Zoo library as a gift.

Recall that the decision to accredit the National Museum of Wildlife for membership was made by EARAZA in July of this year based on an application from Turkmenistan, as well as following the results of the EARAZA International Conference, at which the activities of the Ashgabat Zoo were presented.

Earlier, we reported that the EARAZA Accreditation Commission would visit the Ashgabat Zoo in the fall.