U.S. Congress should refine the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to reflect policies used by privately accredited zoos, as it would significantly raise the standard of welfare for zoo animals by benefiting health and conservation efforts for zoo animals, and would also provide zoos with a more authentic business model.

The AWA currently provides animals with an inadequate standard for welfare; most noticeably setting the minimum depth requirement for cetaceans to "be one-half the average adult length of the longest species… or 1.83 meters (6.0 feet)”(USDA, 2020, p.203).

A refinement of the AWA that reflects standards set by privately accredited zoos would benefit the health of animals as well as conservation efforts, as it would better encourage the natural behavior of captive animals. A refinement of the AWA could also benefit the U.S. economy, as privately accredited zoos part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums contributed $22.5 billion to the U.S. economy in 2018 while making up less than 10% of zoos licensed by the USDA, "The total contribution of AZA members to the U.S. economy in 2018, was $22.5 billion... Of the approximately 2,800 animal exhibitors licensed by the USDA across the country, less than 10% are AZA-accredited.”(Fuller, 2019).