Association of Zoological Gardens

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ), until 2014 the Association of German Zoo Directors (VDZ), is the leading association of scientifically managed zoological gardens in German-speaking countries with its headquarters in Berlin . A zoo is considered to be scientifically managed if it is managed by a director with academic training, usually a biologist or a veterinarian, and if it is based on and implements scientific standards in zoology , zoo biology , conservation breeding and zoo education .

history

The association was founded in 1887, making it the oldest zoo association in the world. It arose from the annual meeting of zoo directors from Europe at the animal auctions in Antwerp Zoo . From the 1920s the association expanded to include members from Central and Northern Europe. It became the nucleus of the first international zoo directors association , which was founded in 1935 at the annual conference in Basel . In 1946, after the Second World War , the International Association of Zoo Directors was re-established . The VDZ was reconstituted in 1951. In 1987, exactly 100 years after its foundation, the VDZ adopted new statutes at its annual meeting in Rheine , which transformed the loose association with its annual meetings into a registered association with a fixed association structure. From 2009 until the move to Berlin in 2015, the association's office was in Bern. In 2014, at the annual conference in Münster, it was decided to rename it to its current name.

Association structure

Today the VdZ has 71 zoological gardens and comparable facilities in Germany , Austria , Switzerland and Spain as institutional members. The association also has around 90 corresponding, associated, sponsoring and honorary members. The association language is German. The organ of the association was the magazine Der Zoologischer Garten , published in Jena until the end of 2017 . It was also the organ of the World Zoo Association WAZA . As an association, the VdZ is a member of the WAZA. 40 VdZ members are also institutional members of the WAZA. There is also close cooperation with the European zoo association EAZA , of which VdZ zoos are also members. Once a year the members of the VdZ meet for their annual meeting in a member zoo. These meetings consist of scientific and business meetings, a tour of the hosting zoo and a scientific excursion.

The board consists of nine members. The president is Jörg Junhold .

The managing director is Volker Homes. The office has been in Berlin since 2015.

At the 2016 annual conference in Aachen's Euregiozoo zoo , the association adopted a new mission statement.

See also: List of members of the Association of Zoological Gardens

Frequency of visits to the VdZ zoos

From 1999 to 2003 the number of visitors to the member zoos in Germany was between 26 and 27 million. In 2004 the number rose to over 28 million, to which the reopening of the converted zoo by the sea in Bremerhaven made a significant contribution. After that, the total numbers rose continuously, in particular as a result of the overall renovation of the zoos in Gelsenkirchen , Hanover and Leipzig , which recorded massive increases, the opening of the Hagenbeck Tropical Aquarium in 2007, the Darwineum in Rostock in 2012 and the growing popularity of the ones close to the border Aachen and Nordhorn zoos in neighboring Holland. Most of the zoos in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were also able to benefit from the state's growing popularity as a holiday destination. B. Dresden , Heidelberg , Neuwied and Osnabrück , investments in new plants paid off. In 2014, 52 of the 53 German member zoos (the Aquazoo Düsseldorf was closed due to renovation) had around 33.4 million admissions. The five members in Austria received 3.7 million visitors and the five in Switzerland over 4.3 million. The two member zoos outside the German-speaking area, Tallinn Zoo and Loro Parque on Tenerife, received a total of 1.4 million visitors. According to the VdZ fact sheet, 41 million people visited the VdZ zoos in 2016. Two million visitors also have an annual ticket.

Commitment to species protection

VdZ zoos run 124 international breeding programs to preserve endangered species. In 2015 animals from 48 species were released.

Education and Research

85% of all VdZ zoos have a zoo school. Every year one million zoo visitors take advantage of special educational offers. With the help of VdZ zoos, 400 scientific studies on animal biological and nature conservation topics are published annually.

literature

  • Heinz-Georg Klös & Hans Frädrich (eds.): 100 years of the Association of German Zoo Directors. In: Bongo. Contributions to the zoo. 13, 1987, (special issue).
  • Association of German Zoo Directors eV (ed.): Gardens for animals - experiences for people. The zoological gardens of the VDZ. 125 years of the Association of German Zoo Directors eV JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2012. ISBN 978-3-7616-2555-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History of the association. Retrieved August 16, 2019 .
  2. ↑ The Association of German Zoo Directors no longer exists! Website of the Association of Zoological Gardens . Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ The board of the VdZ. Retrieved August 16, 2019 .
  4. ^ Organization of the VdZ website of the Association of Zoological Gardens . Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Mission statement  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.zoodirektoren.de  
  6. ^ Annual meeting of the Association of Zoological Gardens in Aachen. Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
  7. ↑ 2014 - a record year for the zoos website of the Association of Zoological Gardens , accessed on June 25, 2015.
  8. ^ Fact sheet of the Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ). Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
  9. ^ Fact sheet of the Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ). Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
  10. ^ Fact sheet of the Association of Zoological Gardens. Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
  11. ^ Website of the Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ). Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
  12. ^ Fact sheet of the Association of Zoological Gardens. Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
  13. ^ Fact sheet of the Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ). Retrieved August 23, 2016 .
  14. ^ Website of the Association of Zoological Gardens (VdZ). Retrieved August 23, 2016 .