Could the Toronto Zoo lose its Canadian accreditation next?

About a week ago, the Toronto Zoo lost its golden seal from the American-based Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Now, the president of the union representing the zoo’s animal keepers is concerned the Canadian accreditation may follow.

“That is a very strong possibility,” said Grant Ankenman. “At the present time our membership with CAZA  (the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums) is under review and there is a very strong chance that we will have that revoked as well.”

The two organizations are very similar in principle. The Toronto Zoo lost its AZA accreditation over governance issues. In its unanimous vote, the AZA board of directors found the zoo did not have control over its animals. This became obvious when city council was able to decide to move the zoo’s aging elephants to a non-AZA-accredited sanctuary in California despite the zoo’s protest. This was the first loss of its accreditation in the zoo’s history.

CEO John Tracogna regretted the decision to suspend his zoo.

“Clearly, we are disappointed with the decision made by the AZA,” Tracogna said. “There was never any question of the Toronto Zoo’s animal care. Governance was the key issue.”

The zoo will not be able to re-apply for accreditation before Mar. 1, 2013.

Ankenman is worried about the consequences of this.

“In the short term it may not affect us too much. It mostly hurts our reputation,” Ankenman said. “I think the real test will be a year from now. If we’re rejected then, then it’s definitely much more serious.”

Key to whether the zoo can get its membership back will be the central governance issue.

“We have been working diligently to create a stronger governance model,” Tracogna said. “We will provide an update on this new model in the near future.”

If the zoo cannot work out new governance guidelines with the city, Ankenman doesn’t see how it can get its accreditation back.

About this article

By: Nino Meese-Tamuri
Posted: Apr 28 2012 5:24 pm
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Filed under: News

2 Comments on "Could the Toronto Zoo lose its Canadian accreditation next?"

  1. grand parent | April 30, 2012 at 9:17 am |

    Should also look at the fees associated with getting into the zoo. It cost over $120 to get 4 adults, 3 children, and two cars just to get past the front gates. Considering that a lot of children under 6 will last about 2-3 hours before getting ready to leave, it makes a day at the zoo quite an expensive trip

  2. If the Toronto Zoo loses their CAZA accreditation, it will be because the zoo orchestrates it for political reasons. The Chief Operating Officer of the zoo also is the President of CAZA.

    When the Edmonton Valley Zoo got complaints about keeping a lone elephant contrary to CAZA rules, CAZA simply changed the elephant standards to accommodate the zoo, rather than asking the zoo to meet the higher standard they had set. Of course the CEO of the Edmonton zoo was also on the board of CAZA. Coincidence…. I think not!!

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