What is the Association of Zoos and Aquariums About
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is credited with “building North America’s largest wildlife conservation movement.” This nonprofit organization started in 1924 to accredit exemplary zoos and aquariums that go over and beyond in their standards for animal care, education and wildlife conservation. They work toward educating the public, soliciting donations, rewarding outstanding team players and preserving exotic animals that would otherwise be pushed to the brink of extinction and beyond. Zoo conservation is an important movement to protect the earth’s biodiversity for our children to see.
The AZA has many zoo conservation programs underway. In 2007, they announced some of their greatest success stories. For instance, the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle nests are being protected along the Mexican Gulf Coast, with hundreds being added each year. Grevy’s zebras are being conserved in Kenya, thanks to the work of a Saint Louis Zoo. The Great White Shark is being preserved at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where the animal exhibit hopes to change the public’s perception of these infamous trophy creatures. Butterfly monitoring in Florida, marmots at the Toronto Zoo and bald eagles in San Francisco are all successful programs underway.
Zoo conservation breeding programs are just part of the puzzle, of course. There needs to be government protection of wildlife habitats and careful regulation of development and boating pursuits that threaten endangered species around the world. Far too often human exploits go too far and we destroy the animal kingdom’s environment, without ever really realizing it — until we see a dead whale washed up on the beach with rotor slashes on its back, or a mountain lion dead along a California highway. Zoos around the world are calling attention to these issues, imparting the lessons of conservation upon future generations while they are young and impressionable in hopes of avoiding a dire fate.
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