While it's not permissible to admit in our customer service oriented culture, I get worried whenever a review focuses on someone being a "nice guy". There have been plenty of charming scoundrels throughout history (indeed, they're often the most successful ones!), as well as plenty of socially awkward folks who always do the right thing. Plus, it's almost always the case that someone can be nice to some people, and awful to others.
That said, I want to see animals treated well. And I'm glad that husbandry standards are continuously evolving. I also think it's a crime that USDA isn't itself a better regulator in this regard.
What I do think is often missing is the allowance for more gradations or nuance between best and worst, and relatively few incentives or assistance offered to places that are interested in gradually moving up and making improvements. Instead, the gap between the haves and the have nots continues to grow larger. And at times it often feels like
maintaining the gap has itself become the goal, as much as or more than all the valid animal or conservation reasons. For that, I do feel sorry for smaller institutions that are unnecessarily being left behind.
I think that the AZA's Pathways to Membership program is a good first step in bridging the gap, at least for "pretty decent" zoos that need some extra guidance in being able to make it to full accreditation. But my sense is that zoos have to be pretty far along for that to be realistic.
Ideally, I'd love to see organizations or networks that could help smaller zoos with
parts of their programs, even if they are never going to get to a perfect standard across the board. The Zoological Association of America (ZAA) might actually be in a better place to help with this if they were so inclined, since they already seem to be a bit more understanding of a variety of circumstances.
For example, I'd love to see an organization that could help small zoos with habitat improvements. Or a network of smaller zoos that could band together and pledge to help one another with unanticipated rehomes. Or a way for smaller zoos to download and print educational signage without having to hire a professional educator. -- But where each of these issues could be addressed a la carte, rather than having to immediately commit to a full menu of conservation and in situ and SSP programs that may be far beyond the zoo's current reach.
If we allowed more smaller zoos to think about improving themselves step by step, and issue by issue, rather than lumping everything together in an "all or nothing" way, then I think there's a lot of potential good that could be done. (At least for those smaller zoos that aren't run by nice guys who are accustomed to just skating by on their charm
).
