AZA review places Baton Rouge among the country’s best zoos

Recently, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) granted accreditation to BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo.

“Our accreditation is another indicator that we’re achieving our mission,” says Zoo Director Phil Frost. “When our guests visit the Baton Rouge Zoo, they are visiting a facility that meets the very highest standards of animal care.”

The United States Department of Agriculture licenses more than 2,500 zoo and animal exhibitors. As of March 2012, there are only 225 AZA-accredited institutions. So, this designation places the Baton Rouge Zoo among the top 10 percent of zoos in the nation.

And, it’s not the first time—it’s the eighth. According to AZA, the Baton Rouge Zoo was first accredited in September 1977, the same year as the San Francisco and St. Louis zoos. In fact, Baton Rouge was the first Louisiana zoo—and the 19th institution in the country—to receive AZA accreditation. The Audubon Zoo was accredited in 1981 followed by the Alexandria Zoo in 1986.

Every five years, the AZA’s independent accreditation commission conducts a thorough review of the zoo’s animal care, veterinary, conservation, education and safety programs to make sure they meet the organization’s benchmark standards.

One of the greatest benefits of AZA accreditation is the opportunity to participate in the international Species Survival Plan (SSP) program. Besides coordinating the breeding of threatened or endangered species within its member zoos, this long-range conservation plan aims to reintroduce some zoo-bred into the wild.

The Baton Rouge Zoo is participating in 50 SSPs, which include everything from Louisiana pine snakes to primates and big cats to elephants. Some involve breeding and others require holding animals to prevent them from being over bred.

“As an AZA-accredited facility, our zoo and our community can proudly say we are a part of America’s largest wildlife conservation movement,” Frost explains. “We know that when people have the opportunity to see animals up-close, they connect. It’s our zoo’s hope that this connection inspires people to protect wildlife and wild places.”

Click here to see some of Northside Humane Society’s spectacular adoptable animals.

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