Blog, General news, Schools and nurseries
Dudley Zoo’s focus on effective hand washing – for visitors as well as staff
Jun
Washing with soap and water the key in order to prevent cross-contamination
Situated in the West Midlands area of the UK, Dudley Zoological Gardens (DZG) is a home to more than 1300 animals, and has nigh on 200 species, including some of the rarest creatures on Planet Earth.
Being in day-to-day contact with the animals makes hand hygiene particularly important for Dudley Zoo. And they actively encourage staff and visitors to wash their hands properly with soap and water in preference to hand gels, according to Rachel Hickman of DZG.
The Go Wild! Theatre
“The Teal Stallette portable sinks (pictured above)is based in our Go Wild! Theatre where our education presenters host daily animal encounters for our visitors with a variety of small critters, from snakes and bearded lizards to chinchillas and cockroaches” said Rachel.
“The sink is a convenient way for visitors to clean their hands in the theatre, where there are no permanent facilities, to prevent cross contamination before and after touching the animals.”
“As it’s portable there’s also the opportunity for us to use it elsewhere across our zoo site if needed. We’re also looking at the possibility of using them for our outreach sessions, when our team goes out and about the local area taking out our zoo roadshow, again for similar reasons.”
Soap and water before gels
“Although we always use antibacterial foam with our animal handling we always advocate it’s not a suitable alternative to handwashing and we have colourful posters around the site to reinforce the correct way to wash hands and its importance” added Rachel.
DZG is much more than a zoo!
Hundreds of exotic and endangered animals inhabit an ancient wooded hillside, with a rich geological history, around the ruins of the 11th century Dudley Castle and share a site with the world’s largest single collection of Modernist Tecton structures – and the country’s only vintage chairlift!
Millions of people have visited Dudley Zoo since it opened in 1937. They remember the amazing animals, medieval castle and quirky Tectons, but know little of the vital behind-the-scenes conservation projects that put DZG on the world stage.
More about Dudley Zoological Gardens »
Teal portable hand wash units can be used wherever they’re needed
The Teal range of mobile sinks are robust, easy to move around and need surprisingly little water and includes the mains powered Super Stallette and the ultra portable Handeman Xtra and WashStand which use preheated hot water and can be placed anywhere within a zoo, farm or animal care environment.