Zoos

Over 10,000 zoos exist around the world, and the United States Department of Agriculture has 2,400 licensed animal exhibitors around the nation. In 2002, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) completed over 2,000 projects in the pursuit of conserving animal habitats and populations, 50 percent of which were carried out in 80 different nations.¹ Zoos and aquariums worldwide collectively spend over $350 million on animal conservation efforts each year, and generate over 700 million visitors in a given year. Many zoos and aquariums, in addition to allowing visitors to see a wide variety of animal species, offer environmental and animal conservation educational programs to their patrons.² The World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy was published in 2015 by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The initiative is focused on furthering the efforts of zoos and their counterparts in educating their visitors about conserving animal species and raising awareness about the needs of animals worldwide.³ This strategy additionally established a series of policies to protect animals in zoos, creating international standards for quality of care.⁴