ZAA sleeping with the enemy?

Arizona Docent

Arizona Docent

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
At first glance I was repelled by this, but after just a couple minutes contemplation, I am intrigued and not sure what I think.

The ZAA annual conference is coming up this November (in my home state). Conference
The keynote speaker for the conference is ...wait for it... the communications director for the National Cattlemans Beef Association!

Say what???

I mean, aren't these the people that advocate killing wolves and mountain lions? What is the ZAA thinking? I personally gave up beef over two decades ago for this very reason.

But after I thought about it, perhaps it could be good for a conservation oriented group like ZAA to build bridges with them. Perhaps by working together they can reach some common ground, such as convincing the Association to promote predator friendly ranching practices. I do know that some ranchers have been very cooperative here in southern Arizona regarding the studies on the return of the jaguar.

Thoughts anyone?
 
Cattle producers and in Australia's case Sheep and cattle producers manage a large % of each countries land area. Most do enjoy the biodiversity and have a love for the native species on their land. Predators will be tolerated at low predation levels, in most cases, although their may be some exceptions where stock and predators can not coexist.

I have just returned from another trip to a western NSW sheep station, where the WedgTail Eagles are a favorite of the manager. He likes the native birds and is at war with feral cats which are killing them and the Fat Tailed Dunnarts. I shot and dissected 2 feral cats there this week and both were full of bird pieces and feathers.

Even if there are some predators land managers will not tolerate, they are still involved in the conservation of many other species.
 
Can you give us a bit of background about ZAA. What is its relationship with AZA? A brief look at their website is intriguing, not least because one of their commerical members is a commercial importer of exotic animals.
 
Usually dialogue is a good thing. To quote Bill Clinton, "You don't make peace with your friends".

Conservationists have to understand that people whose livelihood is being threatened need gentle words, not brickbats. Equally, where non-lethal methods of stock protection are possible these must be promoted, and where animals are truly rare then they must be protected.

So many of the world's problems can be addressed with a bit of dialogue which can build respect and then trust.
 
Ive met the guy who claims to have started the ZAA off..hes the guy who started the zoo in Gulf Breeze,Florida.Basically,as I see it, the ZAA is an association of like-minded individuals who like to run their own show and dislike the impositions of the AZA...they still retain many of the "old" values of the American zoo scene in terms of breeding,animal acquisitons and some other aspects[not all of which I disagree with to be honest].In short their orientation is most certainly ex situ.The collections in the ZAA vary from good to not good enough-certainly some facilities I wouldn't want in my association but there are some excellent places too.The big feather in their cap recently has been that the very decent,municipal, Montgomery Zoo in Alabama has joined them[and left the AZA].It is quite likely that they WOULD listen to some folks that the AZA wouldn't-as Ian says ,this isn't always a bad thing.
 
Shirokuma said:
Can you give us a bit of background about ZAA. What is its relationship with AZA? A brief look at their website is intriguing, not least because one of their commerical members is a commercial importer of exotic animals.
Click to expand...

From the ZAA website:

International Society of Zooculturists (ISZ)
In 1987, Ron Blakely, then the Director of the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, who was also a co-founder of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), invited animal professionals from both the public and private sectors to meet at the zoo and propose the creation of an organization that would deal more personally with "animals only" related issues and concerns, without the distractions of marketing, graphics, gift shops, etc. A need for such an organization was identified by all present and thus the "International Society of Zooculturists" was formed.

United Zoological Association (UZA)
In 2000, professionals representing publicly and privately owned animal collections met to discuss problems that were not being addressed by other organizations. As a result, the "United Zoological Association" (UZA) was formed.

Zoological Association of America (ZAA)
In 2003, ISZ and UZA became sister organizations - ISZ for individuals and USZ for facilities. In February 2005, ISZ and UZA combined to form the Zoological Association of America. ZAA's mission is to promote responsible ownership, management, conservation, and propagation of animals in both private and public facilities through professional standards in husbandry, animal care, safety and ethics.​

So it looks like the same guy was co-founder of AZA and indirectly of ZAA.
 
Arizona Docent said:
But after I thought about it, perhaps it could be good for a conservation oriented group like ZAA to build bridges with them. Perhaps by working together they can reach some common ground, such as convincing the Association to promote predator friendly ranching practices. I do know that some ranchers have been very cooperative here in southern Arizona regarding the studies on the return of the jaguar.
Click to expand...

Since ZAA caters to private collectors as well as public zoos, I think there could be valuable lessons learned from the cattle industry.

In addition to private collections, the ZAA promotes the hunting industry's role in conservation.

I am speaking from ignorance and am making an observation, not a judgement, but I get the impression that the ZAA has a conservative mindset while the AZA has a liberal mindset.
 
I will note that one of their conference session speakers is from the Columbus Zoo, which is of course an AZA facility.

One of the ZAA officers is the founder of Exotic Feline Breeding Compound, a ZAA accredited wild cat breeder and zoo. Although he is not part of AZA, his facility regularly trades with AZA zoos and some of the cat SSP's (such as fishing cat and amur leopard) probably could not have been started or sustained without him.

So I do know at least in this instance that the two groups work together on some level.
 
Doing a quick look through their accreditation list, it appears there are at least three facilities that are BOTH AZA and ZAA accredited.
Fort Worth Zoo
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
Safari West
Maybe a couple others, I am not sure.
 
Likely something to do with wanting to keep and acquire new founders for some of its hoofstock species that the AZA said no to to? The Zoo is not taking care of the animals, and the director is an idiot.
 
Shirokuma said:
Why did Montgomery leave AZA?
Click to expand...

I know that montgomery was reprimanded for intentionally breeding a post-reproductive female elephant (age 28), claiming that she was at most 25 to the SSP, which even then is too old to calve successfully. She ended up delivering a stillborn male calf, which just as easily could have claimed the mother's life as well.
 
TheOnlineZoo said:
Here's an interesting comparison of AZA and ZAA. I don't know enough about the organizations or this website to speak to its accuracy or objectiveness, but they make a pretty strong case against ZAA's approach to big cats.

AZA vs ZAA - Big Cat Rescue | Big Cat Rescue
Click to expand...

DO NOT click on any links put out by Big Cat Rescue. I do not know what the above article says because I refuse to add to their internet rankings by clicking on any of their links. They have had a complete reversal from being a cat breeding center to an extremist group that is trying to ban all zoos in this country. I used to be on their mailing list and I have seen some of their articles put out since then and I can tell you for a fact they routinely print outright lies. They (like their friends in PETA) are complete media whores who spend a huge amount of time getting their links at the top of search engines and promoting themselves as experts on captive wildlife, which they in fact are not. They even created an account here on ZooChat a couple years ago, but quickly stopped posting because they could see we are zoo lovers and they were wasting their time here. I urge all ZooChatters to avoid any link with their name, as it only helps to keep them at the top of the search engines.

If you think I am overreacting, send me a PM and I can tell you their full history. And yes, I have visited their facility on more than one occasion and I have met the owner.
 
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