AZA Pathway to Membership Program

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Persephone

Well-Known Member
I haven’t really seen this discussed before, but in 2020 the AZA began a mentorship program of sorts to help guide facilities towards accreditation. It also gives a useful look into what zoos are applying and where the industry might be heading. None of these are guaranteed eventual admission, of course. Neither of the facilities applying for first time accreditation next month are in the program, so it is clearly still possible to be admitted without it.

(Side note: why do insect zoos bother with the time / money involved in accreditation? Does it ease importation requirements? The Bailey-Matthew National Shell Museum would be the third accredited insect house.)

The full list is here: Pathway Toward Membership Program

To summarize some interesting trends:

Two facilities in UAE are on the list. As a trans woman who is trying to visit every AZA zoo I wish they didn’t do this, but whatever.

Lots of aquariums. Very few actual zoos. The zoos are on the list are mostly former AZA members who either had their accreditation revoked or quit to start their own club, only to come crawling back when they realized it violated their lease.

A few dolphinariums are on the list. They’ve also accredited a few more over the last few years, including three “swim with dolphin” sort of deals in Latin America. They don’t seem to be shying away from cetacean husbandry at all, even after they temporarily lost two major (Toronto, Pittsburgh) members over elephants.

Orlando Science Center is on the list. Hilariously, they don’t actually have an animal gallery open to the public right now. Theirs reopens in 2023, although they apparently still have some ambassador animals.

World of Birds is there as well. Curious if that would eventually open the door to more AZA facilities getting some of the bird species they keep.

Any thoughts on the members list and their actual chances of getting accreditation? What does this say about the AZA’s direction? Can someone please tell me why a shell museum needs to be AZA accredited?
 
On Zookeeper facebook groups, I sometimes see people say that they think AZA is a relic, too controlling, to closely tied with HSUS/PETA/etc, and that ZAA is the future. I've never bought that argument, and the fact that so many former facilities are so eager to get back in speaks a lot to the sway that AZA has and how valuable accreditation is, whether for obtaining animals, smoothing relations with government officials, or any number of other benefits. I've spent about a third of my career outside of AZA, two-thirds inside, and I must say - as big of a hassle as accreditation can be, life is a lot easier on the inside than on the outside, and there's certainly no level of community in ZAA like there is in AZA
 
I recently checked the AZA pathway membership page and the list of participants seems to have exploded. I remember checking less than a year ago and maybe a dozen or so facilities were listed, mostly former AZA members that were disqualified in recent years. Now the list stands at a whopping 41 zoos:
  • Al Ain Zoo (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
  • Alexandria Zoo (Alexandria, LA)
  • Aquarium du Québec (Québec, QC, Canada)
  • Belle Isle Aquarium (Detroit, MI)
  • Bergen County Zoo (Paramus, NJ)
  • Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake, CA)
  • Chase Sanctuary (Webster, FL)
  • Chehaw Zoo (Albany, GA)
  • Clearwater Marine Aquarium (Clearwater, FL)
  • Cox Science Center & Aquarium (West Palm Beach, FL)
  • Edmonton Valley Zoo (Edmonton, AB, Canada)
  • Erie Zoo (Erie, PA)
  • Flint RiverQuarium (Albany, GA)
  • Greater Vancouver Zoo (Aldergrove, BC, Canada)
  • Gulf World Marine Park (Panama City Beach, FL)
  • Hattiesburg Zoo (Hattiesburg, MS)
  • High Desert Museum (Bend, OR)
  • Little Ray's Nature Centre - Hamilton (Hamilton, ON, Canada)
  • Little Ray's Nature Centre - Syracuse (Syracuse, NY)
  • Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park (Carlsbad, NM)
  • Magnetic Hill Zoo & Park (Moncton, NB, Canada)
  • Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (Navarre, FL)
  • Orlando Science Center (Orlando, FL)
  • Parc Omega (Montebello, QC, Canada)
  • Patronato Del Parque Zoologico De Leon (Leon, Gto., Mexico)
  • Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Riverside Discovery Center (Scottsbluff, NE)
  • Safari Lake Geneva (Lake Geneva, WI)
  • Safari Niagara (Stevensville, ON, Canada)
  • Safari West Wildlife Preserve (Santa Rosa, CA)
  • Salisbury Zoological Park (Salisbury, MD)
  • Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana, CA)
  • Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Saskatoon, SK, Canada)
  • Shreveport Aquarium (Shreveport, LA)
  • Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (Holderness, NH)
  • Taipei Zoo (Taipei, Taiwan)
  • The Exploration Place (Prince George, BC, Canada)
  • Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary (Tyler, TX)
  • Wild Adventures (Valdosta, GA)
  • Zoológico Guadalajara (Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico)
  • Zoo Sauvage Of St. Felicien (Saint-Felicien, QC, Canada)

Some of these just feel silly to be on here and it feels like some are entering the program just because they can. Gulf World Marine Park in no way should ever touch AZA accreditation in their current state and while its in a better position I still really don't think Clearwater is up to par either. I'm also not sure what benefit there is for either parties if Cox Science Center would gain accreditation. Its has a tiny aquarium with common species and thats it. Same could also be said about Belle Isle and Orlando Science Center. Chase Sanctuary is some middle-of-nowhere private tour facility that I doubt gets much visitors. Tiger Creek is being forced to join AZA or the courts supposedly will close them for violations, who knows if they'll ever make it.. On the other hand I'm pretty sure Montgomery Zoo was on the pathway program before and now they're not. Is it because neither party will budge on their elephant program? They were a better zoo than Birmingham in my opinion, so in regards to quality I feel they could definitely achieve AZA accreditation.

I still don't see the benefit of a non-North American facility like Al Ain and Taipei joining. It is good to see more Canadian and Mexican zoos on the list, however.
 
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I agree, some of those are silly and I don't know why they would bother. What reason would CMA have to join? Their mission is not really the same as they are primarily rescue.

Wild Adventures is fine, but a lot of their exhibits are not really AZA standard, although they have been making improvements in the park over the last few years, and they have the money to do it if they want. Further. Herschend has experience with AZA membership from their other properties.
 
SusScrofa said:
Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (Navarre, FL)
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I just looked up this place and while people always say not to judge a book by its cover I don’t know how much can a sea turtle rescue center need or benefit from AZA membership. I take it that they don’t have much space to expand or join a species sustainability program.
 
Does it cost money to enter the pathway program? I'm guessing even if it does its minimal. Maybe some of these places are "joining" just for the positive publicity especially with all the ARA's around. I don't think many of the smaller places will get accredited, and for a place like Tiger Creek I have to wonder if its even cost effective to stay open. Profits for these private non-accredited places are pretty thin as it is and now maintaining compliance will further eat away at whatever money is generated.

If it doesn't cost money, I figure more places will enter just for the pats on the back in the future. Which will turn the program into a joke.
 
SusScrofa said:
I'm pretty sure Montgomery Zoo was on the pathway program before and now they're not. Is it because neither party will budge on their elephant program? They were a better zoo than Birmingham in my opinion, so in regards to quality I feel they could definitely achieve AZA accreditation.
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What's the issue with their elephant program?

SusScrofa said:
I still don't see the benefit of a non-North American facility like Al Ain and Taipei joining. It is good to see more Canadian and Mexican zoos on the list, however.
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There are other reasons, but being accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums means those zoos have met the "highest standards for animal care and welfare," which itself would be very appealing for expanding their attendance figures.
 
wild boar said:
There are other reasons, but being accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums means those zoos have met the "highest standards for animal care and welfare," which itself would be very appealing for expanding their attendance figures.
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But Taipei is already accredited by the EAZA and Al Ain did ruin its reputation by importing wild elephants from Namibia. Membership for the former it seems unnecessary and for the latter it seems (for me at least) questionable.
 
The AZA has already accredited multiple facilities in the UAE with another (SeaWorld) likely on the way. I think it’s become the de facto accreditation org for the country.

I think there might be some benefit to zoos in other countries / orgs if they get access to SSPs and other exchange-type programs. There are still import / export permits to consider, but it opens the way towards more international exchange of animals.

I imagine the sea turtle org is going for Accredited Related Facility status. There are a few rehab and specialist collections in that category that are similar enough.

Some (most of the former AZA members, the larger zoos / aquariums in North America) probably do genuinely intend to become AZA members and are getting help working on the necessary changes. I’m guessing others (Taipei) are probably just exploring the possibility. I suspect most are just in it to claim they’re working towards AZA accreditation and get regulators and activists off their back about not being accredited. Or maybe they’re seeing how much it would cost in infrastructure updates to join.

Excluding former AZA members, I’ve only been to Little Ray’s in Hamilton and Safari Niagara. Little Ray’s is a fairly tiny reptile zoo in a strip mall that nonetheless had pretty good exhibits for almost all of its animals. I could see them easily getting AZA membership if they phased out adult alligators. Not entirely sure why they want it but it’s not unreasonable. Safari Niagara is clearly making efforts to improve as a facility from questionable origins and I think AZA accreditation is a goal they’re genuinely striving for. They aren’t quite there yet, but I think they could earn membership before the decade’s out.

At this point I don’t think Pittsburgh has any real intention to rejoin the AZA but needs to at least pretend like they do to keep their lease.
 
SusScrofa said:
I still don't see the benefit of a non-North American facility like Al Ain and Taipei joining. It is good to see more Canadian and Mexican zoos on the list, however.
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It's definitely interesting, but the number of non-North American AZA members has been growing in recent years. Looking at the AZA's list of accredited institutions, it lists the following facilities outside of the US and Canada:
  • Africam Safari Park (Mexico)
  • Aquarium of the Port of Veracruz (Mexico)
  • Atlantis, Dubai (UAE)
  • Atlantis, Paradise Island (Bahamas)
  • Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo (Bermuda)
  • Ocean Park Corporation (Hong Kong)
  • Dolphin Discovery (two locations in Mexico, one in Dominican Republic)
  • Dolphin Island (Singapore)
  • Emirates Park Zoo (UAE)
  • Fundacion Temaiken (Argentina)
  • Oceanografic Valencia (Spain)
  • Seoul Zoo (South Korea)
  • Zoologico de Cali (Colombia)
There are also the seven accredited facilities in Canada, leading to a total of 21 accredited institutions outside the US. Given the difficulty of importing/exporting species, it does seem like the benefits of accreditation for international facilities would be less than they'd be for US facilities. Even Canadian facilities, such as Toronto, sometimes have additional considerations for collection planning than US facilities due to import/export laws, and I can't imagine it'd be any easier to import/export animals halfway across the world.

The accreditation of Cali and Temaiken may be beneficial for the AZA since it allows rescued individuals of neotropical wildlife to potentially enter managed populations more easily (I know that Cali Zoo has been a beneficial addition to the giant river otter studbook). Other than that, it doesn't seem like most of these international zoos are of much benefit to the AZA, nor vice versa. If anything, their participation in SSPs could add an additional layer of confusion in the planning process/genetic calculations when imports/exports are not possible. Furthermore, I don't think it is a good look for the AZA to accredit facilities that are primarily "swim with dolphin" programs.
 
Persephone said:
Little Ray’s is a fairly tiny reptile zoo in a strip mall that nonetheless had pretty good exhibits for almost all of its animals. I could see them easily getting AZA membership if they phased out adult alligators.
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Little Ray’s also manages traveling exhibitions to museums. The exhibits tend to be hit or miss depending on what is kept in it. I know it isn’t a circus but I wonder if the AZA is okay with a traveling exhibitor as a member.
 
PossumRoach said:
Little Ray’s also manages traveling exhibitions to museums. The exhibits tend to be hit or miss depending on what is kept in it. I know it isn’t a circus but I wonder if the AZA is okay with a traveling exhibitor as a member.
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Aardwolf said:
Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland manages traveling exhibits and they’ve been a member for years
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Not to mention that traveling/temporary exhibits tend to be a common occurrence in aquariums, including world-class institutions like Mystic and Shedd.
 
I often wonder whether the Mill Mountain Zoo in Virginia will make any moves toward AZA re-accreditation. I know they lost AZA accreditation on financial grounds in 2016 but are still part of the SSP for some of their species.
 
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