Worst AZA Zoo You've Visited?

Glancing through the current AZA list, it's clear that the organization has become stricter over the years and a few of the weaker zoos have been weeded out in the last decade. There's still some zoos that have many dodgy exhibits and the 'worst' AZA establishments that I've toured would be these six (including the year of my visit):

Charles Paddock Zoo - 2011
Erie Zoo - 2012 (no longer accredited as of 2021)
Jackson Zoo - 2012 (no longer accredited as of 2016)
Potawatomi Zoo - 2012
Jenkinson's Aquarium - 2012
Chahinkapa Zoo - 2012 (no longer accredited as of 2021)

Of those 6 zoos, each has ebbed and flowed with new projects or empty habitats in the intervening years, but the one that has shown the most progress is clearly Potawatomi Zoo. Since my visit, the zoo has completed a new Master Plan (2015), a new carousel (2016), the Okapi Conservation Center (2017), the addition of a White Rhino (2019), a Giraffe exhibit (2022), a Lion exhibit (2023) and an Andean Bear exhibit (2024). The other 5 zoos on my list combined haven't finished as many high-profile projects. For instance, I don't expect Jackson Zoo to even exist a few years from now.
 
birdsandbats said:
This thread is jus proof that the AZA is indeed a high standard of care if the worst we can come up with are zoos that are just boring or a bit behind on the times.
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I think the reason that the zoo’s accreditation was removed was because they were breeding white tigers at the time. It’s improved in recent years, but the diversity of their hoofstock collection has suffered as a result. Alabama Safari Park (which is about 20 minutes away) has a MUCH better roster of hoofstock.
 
I suppose it would have to be Racine. There are several exhibits I think are decent/good but also some that are poor. I think with access to new funding they could improve considerably as recent developments tend to be strong for a smaller zoo, imo
 
Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in St. Louis.

It’s a perfectly fine butterfly house but I have no idea why they wanted AZA accreditation. Almost all of their animals could be sourced from the wild, butterfly suppliers, or the pet trade. I’m a little mad I had to go to this one.

But if you mean animal welfare, as others have mentioned the floor is pretty high. I’m going to propose Niagara Aquarium. The sea lion tank doesn’t really give privacy for its residence (or space if they don’t want to do shows), the seal tank is genuinely the worst I’ve seen, the fish tanks are usually fine but unimpressive.
 
The "worst" AZA facility that I have visited is probably the Birch Aquarium. I recently visited while in San Diego, and I wasn't super blown away by the facility. They had a lot of interesting and unique species that I had never seen before, but several of the exhibits were just a little boring. Definitely not a bad facility, just the worst out of all the AZA facilities I have visited.

While I do love Milwaukee, it does have many exhibits that need renovations. There are plans for renovations, thankfully. (It is the funding that is their biggest issue, as it is with many facilities) However, after visiting facilities like Minnesota, Omaha, and San Diego, it does make me wish that Milwaukee would get the funding it needs to make some outstanding new exhibits.
 
EsserWarrior said:
The "worst" AZA facility that I have visited is probably the Birch Aquarium. I recently visited while in San Diego, and I wasn't super blown away by the facility. They had a lot of interesting and unique species that I had never seen before, but several of the exhibits were just a little boring. Definitely not a bad facility, just the worst out of all the AZA facilities I have visited.

While I do love Milwaukee, it does have many exhibits that need renovations. There are plans for renovations, thankfully. (It is the funding that is their biggest issue, as it is with many facilities) However, after visiting facilities like Minnesota, Omaha, and San Diego, it does make me wish that Milwaukee would get the funding it needs to make some outstanding new exhibits.
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Birch aquarium had an outstanding penguin habitat but the outdoor shark tank looked like an above ground pool.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
Birch aquarium had an outstanding penguin habitat but the outdoor shark tank looked like an above ground pool.
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The penguin exhibit and the kelp forest tanks were amazing. The outdoor shark tank was definitely the worst exhibit.

I also forgot to mention that Racine Zoo is also a facility to mention. They do not get the attendance that the other zoos in the area get, so it does not get the funding that they do. However, I would not consider it a bad facility. Just not as outstanding as the other AZA facilities I’ve visited.
 
EsserWarrior said:
The penguin exhibit and the kelp forest tanks were amazing. The outdoor shark tank was definitely the worst exhibit.

I also forgot to mention that Racine Zoo is also a facility to mention. They do not get the attendance that the other zoos in the area get, so it does not get the funding that they do. However, I would not consider it a bad facility. Just not as outstanding as the other AZA facilities I’ve visited.
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I forgot about the kelp tank, it was quite amazing.
 
It was in a state of transition, but my first visit to Knoxville wasn't a great one. They still had corn silo exhibits. The reptile area was incredibly underwhelming. The Egyptian-themed lion/baboon exhibits were extremely dated.

Have to say, though, my last visit in 2021 was very positive. The reptile facility is now really excellent. The new Asian complex was another major improvement. There's still work to be done, but they're worth visiting.

I've also never been a huge fan of Indianapolis. It's very small with fairly unremarkable exhibits. Some are flat-out eyesores.

The list of aquariums that I dislike is too long to name off. With the exception of the 4-6 major institutions, they're all pretty much the same to me. Penguins, sharks, rinse, repeat. I don't even prioritize seeing aquariums when I travel to new cities.
 
evilmonkey239 said:
I’m not sure why I didn’t think of them before, but Seaworld San Diego would be another contender for one of the weakest AZA facilities I’ve been to. Although the orca tanks are probably the worst, just about all of the marine mammal enclosures with the exception of the sea otters and mayyybe the bottlenose dolphin habitat seemed too small to me. Beyond that, though, the indoor enclosures (Penguin Encounter, sharks, sea turtles, etc) are all pretty nice.
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Another vote for Seaworld San Diego. I was disappointed when we went there, because I'd expected the usual AZA focus on conservation and education. What I saw instead was corny, tacky, circus-animal performances that had nothing to do with natural behaviours or conservation and the stars of the facility seemed to be Spongebob, Christmas muppets and margaritas.

I did like the beluga and walrus area, but it still felt too small (this might be a perspective issue, I haven't seen the facilities from aerial shots). Most of the tanks were completely empty bowls of water, or very dated and boring (Atlantis). We visited Pittsburgh Zoo later in the trip and their aquarium was phenomenal and had so much more education and conservation messaging.

Yeah, it just felt exploitative and sad to be honest. A very bleak aquarium, which was really disappointing when I know that Seaworld does so much relocation and rehabilitation for wildlife. I dunno what management are doing with that place.
 
I am gonna level with you, the David Traylor Zoo in Emporia Kansas. The main zoo is sad as the main zoo is undersized and quite dated, their education center is average at best. The main positive is what was their once drive through section which consists of large paddocks (With obstructive views). Even their newer stuff isn't very good.
 
JessKimber said:
(this might be a perspective issue, I haven't seen the facilities from aerial shots)
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You can view it on Google Earth here. If you zoom in far enough on the Orca Encounter area you can see one of the whales (though very blurry, still a little neat.)


EDIT: dear lord did not mean to necro-reply my apologies
 
Racine Zoo, especially right now after losing some of its signature rarities, has to be the worst AZA zoo I've been to.

Nothing about it is really "terrible" other than the all-indoor orangutan housing. But the species selection is small (although with some standouts, sun bear and fossa are still in stock and they only relatively recently lost the West Caucasian Tur and Lesser Adjutant Stork) and the empty exhibits paired with frequent no-shows makes for a bad experience for zoo visitors.

Seeing the nearby (and leagues better) Milwaukee County Zoo included in this discussion, to me at least, shows how good AZA standards are if anything.
 
It was accredited at the time of my visit, but Erie Zoo was definitely my worst visit. And it wasn't even at it's worst when I stopped by!
 
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