International Zoo News, 2004, Volume 51/3, Number 332

In the various fields of animal nutrition a wealth of data on all aspects of animal requirements, feed composition etc. is available. But these data are spread over countless publications, making the quick use of them when everyday nutritional problems occur almost impossible, for instance when there is the need for a quick diet evaluation. Of course data are also summarized in reference books and food tables, but many of these are too big and too heavy for use in practical situations.
Therefore, especially for use outside the office and far from well-stocked libraries, in many countries small booklets are published which contain basic nutritional information useful for the solution of 'standard' nutritional problems. These have long been a well-known phenomenon in livestock nutrition. Because of their size, production time is fairly short, which makes a higher publication frequency possible. As are suit, they have the additional advantage that their data are more up-to-date than in the more voluminous reference works and food tables with lower publication frequencies.
Scientifically-based zoo animal nutrition is a relatively new activity compared t, for instance, livestock nutrition. However, in the 1980s knowledge started to increase significantly, initially as a result of developments in the U.S.A., later followed by similar developments in Europe. The problems mentioned above with regard to the accessibility and quick availability of nutritional data apply also to zoo animal nutrition. An additional disadvantage is that data on species' nutritional requirements and the composition of specific food items is of ten hard to find because they are published in a variety of reports and journals, or are even unpublished.
The European Zoo Nutrition Centre (EZNC), which since its establishment in January 2002 has already undertaken many worthwhile activities, recognized the need for easily accessible information. As a result, in autumn 2003 it published Zoo Animal Nutrition Tables and Guidelines. This handy, relatively cheap, pocket-sized book contains all sorts of data related to the subject of zoo nutrition. In particular, the chapters and tables on energy requirements, recommended dietary nutrient levels and foodstuff analysis contain indispensable information for everybody who is regularly - or even irregularly - involved in the design and evaluation of zoo diets.
Of course every nutritionist who reviews a booklet like this will find things to improve and have ideas about what to add to the publication and what to cut from it. Personally I would like to see the chapters on nutritional analysis and pellet production skipped, because they do not contain enough practically applicable information. Instead of these chapters a glossary in which important nutritional terms, including those used in feed analysis, are explained would be a useful addition. And in a future edition the chapter on feed quality could be extended with information on risk factors specific to feed items used in zoos. Maybe the authors could also consider a chapter with basic rules for the interpretation of dietary evaluation outcomes. Although they quite rightly warn that this interpretation should be left to qualified nutritionists, it might still be a good idea to give an oversight of the most common pitfalls of nutritional interpretation.
Finally, I would like to see more emphasis on energy requirements for maintenance instead of basal metabolic rate, and when expressing the weight of animals the kilogram as unit instead of the gram. But these fairly minor criticisms should not overshadow the fact that the publication of this booklet with all its useful information is an important development in itself. As stated before, good practical information on zoo animal nutrition is not easy to obtain. Zoo Animal Nutrition Tables and Guidelines makes this kind of information easily accessible for a wide range of users, both inside and outside the zoo community. Not only in dietary evaluation but also in education it could be an important tool.
Rapid developments in zoo nutrition will make new editions necessary in the future. The format used will make the regular production of updated versions possible. If the booklet gets the deserved acknowledgment which will be shown by its extensive use, this will facilitate future editions. In that case it will, next to conferences, the activities of advisory groups in the V.S.A., and the production of extensive publications on the subject, contribute a lot to the advance of the much-needed professional approach towards zoo animal nutrition.

Tjalling Huisman, Lecturer, Animal Nutrition, Dept. of Animal Management, Van Hall Institute, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands