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Researcher(s):
Sadie Kurtz Susan Heinselman Rachel Tanzer Julia Revier
ENVS course(s): 330 Initiated: April 2015 Completed: April 2015 Go to project site
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Present day zoos and aquariums are often heavily engaged in conservation work and research. In the past, zoos primarily were a venture into the entertainment industry that ended up developing a bad reputation for mistreating their captive animals (Horowitz, 1981). While some zoos and aquariums today still primarily operate for entertainment and profit, many zoos in the U.S. have developed an additional focus on research, education, and conservation programs. Specifically, while many “zoos do not articulate conservation education in their mission statements, they do mention both conservation and education” (Patrick, 2007). This development has increased the uses of zoos and aquariums as a means to preserving wildlife both in reality and in the perceptions of the public.
Not a lot of research has been done on the effectiveness of conservation programs and techniques so it is hard to say what the impact zoos and aquariums have on wildlife conservation. We can however examine what types of conservation programs zoos are pursuing and compare them to strategies that are not being utilized for wildlife conservation. Zoos and aquariums are an important educational resource for the public and therefore it is important to evaluate what methods zoos do and possibly could use to meet their conservation objectives (de White, 1994). This study will be situated around The Oregon Zoo, which operates a number of highly regarded programs throughout the conservation community. This study looks to evaluate these conservation programs which have been established by the Oregon Zoo by asking the questions: How do zoos and aquariums portray their conservation objectives through their websites compared to the Oregon Zoo? What methods do they use and what methods are they lacking? What is the strongest objective/focus in zoos and aquariums websites compared to the ones reflected on the Oregon Zoo's website?