Zoos need more involvement in conservation, less in entertainment: Calgary zoo conference

Zoos and aquariums around the world need to undergo an evolution from just focusing on entertainment to conservation in order to remain relevant with the public, an international conference has been told.

The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo is hosting more than 2,000 zoo professionals from around the world at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums annual conference. It's the first time the event has been held outside of the United States in decades and the first time it's been held in Calgary in 40 years.

While zoos have long been the purview of families — providing fun for a Sunday outing — they have come under criticism from animal rights activists complaining about animals being held in captivity.

"Modern zoos and aquariums are conservation advocates," association president Daniel Ashe said in an interview.

"Aquariums and zoos are changing with the times. Of course it's important for them to be fun places to go and they are fun places to be … but they also visit to experience animals and that's the most important aspect."

Ashe said nature is under attack and the world is living through what scientists call the sixth mass extinction event in the Earth's history.

"It's the first extinction event not caused by a meteor or volcanism but caused by humans and what we're doing to the planet," he said.

"It's more important than ever that we know what we can do, and we're inspired by nature and engaged."

Over 43,000 species currently threatened

Jessica Steiner, a senior adviser in conservation networking at the Calgary Zoo, told a session that the world is in a period of "unprecedented species loss."

She said more than 43,000 species are currently considered threatened with extinction globally and zoos are taking on a more important role.

"Across North America and around the world, zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens are finding that balancing the demands for entertainment, education and conservation is increasingly difficult," Steiner said.

"Conservation is really an imperative for 21st-century zoos. People are less enamoured with zoos as centres for entertainment only. We need to flip that narrative. We need to be seen as conservation centres and walk the talk."

Angela Yang, the director of international field conservation at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, said her work involves bringing zoos and global conservation groups together.

"I think zoos, aquariums and botanic gardens have a lot of resources and because we kind of work in silos, that's not commonly known, especially for groups on the ground," she said.

"The general public probably doesn't know the extent of how zoos are involved in conservation and that's a story that is still kind of brewing in the zoos but not getting out there for the public."

Jamie Dorgan, the interim president and CEO of the zoo in Calgary, said providing entertainment isn't enough anymore.

"Really for us the key role we play in our community is getting people to fall in love with wildlife," he said.

"When they fall in love with wildlife … then they want to join us in helping to save wildlife and wild places. Zoos have evolved massively in the last decade to 30 or 40 years."