AZA News Releases

Dear Secretary Haaland: We are directors of modern aquariums and zoos, accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We are conservation organizations, and we, like you and your employees, work to save animals from extinction. We are proud of our government partnerships and our coordinated efforts to save such iconic species like the California condor, the Florida manatee and panther, as well as lesser-known species among the animal world like the hellbender and American burying beetl... Read More

Washington, DC (December 8, 2021) - In front of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, testified about the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). Ashe spoke on behalf of the association’s 239 accredited members and on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and its more than 2.2 million members and supporters. In his testimony he emphasized the need for the bill to include more support f... Read More

Silver Spring, Maryland (August 12, 2021) – A new documentary called “The Conservation Game” focuses critical attention on the practices of television entertainers who use big cat cubs, including Jack Hanna, Dave Salmoni, and Jarod Miller. Now-retired Jack Hanna’s relationship to Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), is prominently featured. In response to the film’s release, Dan Ashe, President and CEO of... Read More