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Looking For A Nexus Between Trust, Compassion, And Regulation: Colorado's Search For Standards Of Care For Private, Non-Profit Wildlife Sanctuaries, Katherine A. Burke

Animal Law Review

In 2004, the Colorado legislature amended its wildlife statutes, formally recognizing the existence of private, nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries under the jurisdiction of the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW). Opponents to the 2004 amendments and CDOW staff have repeatedly expressed concerns that private sanctuaries should not be authorized in the absence of regulations and enforcement mechanisms sufficient to protect the animals and the people who come into contact with them. In implementing the sanctuary statute, CDOW has followed a familiar pattern, relying on the accreditation program of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AZA) to provide the basis of …