Zoos could become 'conservation powerhouses'

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In the face of mass extinction, a new report by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) argues that every zoo should devote at least 3% of their budgets to conservation work.

What do the golden lion tamarin, Przewalski’s horse, the Puerto Rican parrot and the kihansi spray toad all have in common? Well, for one thing they’ve all been on the very brink of extinction; for another, they very likely wouldn’t survive today if not for the work of zoos. Over the past century, zoos have played a crucial role in saving dozens, maybe hundreds, of species from extinction. Most often this work has stemmed from breeding captive animals inside zoo walls, but today more and more zoos are funding conservation in the field or even starting their own programmes. Now a new report by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has called on these institutions to raise their ambitions by spending at least 3% of their operational budgets on conservation.

“The idea is to make it very clear that the ultimate purpose of zoological institutions is conservation,” said WAZA Executive Director, Gerald Dick. “This can be achieved in various ways, and spending money is one important one.”