EAZA - the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

🤝 Community | 𝗘𝗔𝗭𝗔 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗔𝗭𝗪𝗩 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

We are happy to have renewed our partnership with the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV), with the official signing of our Memorandum of Understanding at Dublin Zoo last week.
🐾This continuous collaboration reinforces our joint commitment to improving animal health, welfare and husbandry across EAZA Member institutions.

Over the next five years, we'll continue working together to:
✅ Strengthen the integration of veterinary expertise in EAZA institutions
✅ Increase interdisciplinary collaboration across working groups
✅ Increase advocacy support for Members regarding animal health legislation and vaccinations at European level

..alongside other efforts!
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📸 1 Left to right: Christoph Schwitzer, Chair of the EAZA Executive Committee; Maya Kummrow, President of the EAZWV Board; Uta Westerhüs, Vice President of the EAZWV Board; Allan Muir, Executive Director at EAZWV ©️1-2 Dublin Zoo

🐾 Animal Care | 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗘𝗔𝗭𝗔 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 🚨

In this session, our experts will introduce an effective matrix📝 for assessing animal well-being across all species in zoos/aquariums.

Then, we will take a closer look at the Dolphin-WET 🐬, a species-specific tool grounded in five principles: housing, feeding, health, behaviour, and mental state. Designed to help animal care teams assess and track dolphin welfare consistently over time.

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀:
🎤Katrin Baumgartner, Zoo Veterinarian and Curator at Tiergarten Nürnberg (Germany)
🎤Daniel Sakarli, Researcher at the Universitetssykehuset Nord-Norge HF (Norway)

📆 24 June 2026, 2 – 3pm CEST
𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 ➡️ https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1W3dXk-yRx6fQvdXbFN30Q #/registration

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲!🌍🤝

At the EAZA Conservation Forum, 159 participants from 28 countries gathered at Opel-Zoo (Germany) to explore how trust, local partnerships and collaboration can drive lasting conservation impact.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 from the Forum here ➡️https://loom.ly/bQYCows

👏Thank you to everyone who contributed, presented and participated, and especially to Opel-Zoo for hosting this inspiring edition of the Forum!
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📸All photos ©️ Opel-Zoo / EAZA

🤝 Community | 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗭𝗼𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱! 📣

This issue pays tribute to Bert de Boer, one of EAZA's founding fathers 🕊️, and shines a light on the incredible work happening across our community.

What's inside:
🦒 The recognition of four distinct giraffe species! And how zoos are contributing to their conservation
🐝 Tackling the decline in Europe's pollinators
✅ How Kaunas Zoo (Lietuvos Zoologijos Sodas) completed its journey towards EAZA accreditation
🦉 The EAZA Ex situ Programme making a difference for the chaco owl

.. and much more!

🔗𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗭𝗼𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 to stay up to date with news from EAZA Members and partners*➡️ https://loom.ly/Jo384mI

Don't forget to share!
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📸 ©️2 Brown Hairstreak (𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘦) by Signe Ellegaard/Zoologisk Have; 3 Chaco owl (𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘹 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴) by Mark Birdsall/ Baytree Owl and Wildlife Centre; 4 Angolan giraffe (𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴) by Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

🤝Community | 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀!

We're back with three more zoos that achieved full EAZA accreditation in April, following our rigorous screening process*. 🎉Big congratulations to:
📍Shaldon Wildlife Trust (UK)
📍Centro de Conservación Zoo Córdoba (Spain)
📍Parco Zoo Falconara (Italy)

Click through to learn more about their work in conservation, education and research. 🐾More celebrations coming your way soon!
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*Every five years, EAZA Members are re-assessed through a rigorous peer-review accreditation process. This ensures they continue to meet EAZA’s advanced standards in animal welfare, conservation, education, research and institutional practice.

Community 🤝 | 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝘆𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗶𝘃 𝗭𝗼𝗼 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟮𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆! 💙💛

We are happy to celebrate the team at Mykolaiv Zoo on this milestone and the extraordinary dedication, resilience, and care🙌 they continue to show under the extreme conditions created by the war.

In addition to honouring their staff with "Star of Mykolaiv Zoo” badges, and celebrating with the public🎉, the zoo brought together institutions from across Ukraine - including other EAZA Candidates for Membership - to strengthen collaboration and discuss the ongoing challenges of operating under times of hardship.

🚨Zoos and aquariums in Ukraine continue to face the devastating impacts of the war. If you are able, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 to the EAZA emergency fund or help us spread the word through your networks 🐾 ➡️https://loom.ly/4GeHagA
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📸 ©️Mykolaiv Zoo
Pic 4: cargo containing 11.5 tons of different animal feed that arrived in Mykolaiv Zoo in 2024, made possible through your donations!

📍 Миколаївський зоопарк загальнодержавного значення Mykolaiv zoo

Conservation 🌍| 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗘𝗔𝗭𝗔 𝘇𝗼𝗼𝘀/𝗮𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀?

Take Attica Zoo (Αττικό Ζωολογικό Πάρκο), an EAZA institution in 📍Greece. Through their collaboration with MOm Greece, a conservation partner dedicated to protecting the vulnerable Mediterranean monk seal (𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴), they host and provide technical support for the species' rehabilitation.🤝🦭

Earlier this year, a monk seal pup was found on the island of Leipsoi, weak and severely malnourished. Thanks to the rapid response of MOm's team, she was transferred to their rescue center, located within the zoo, where she received the intensive care she needed.

The pup now roams freely in the open sea! Just last week she was spotted resting in a marine cave and appears to be in excellent nutritional condition.

Another inspiring example of what zoos/aquariums and their partners can achieve together for the conservation of species .💪

📸©️: P.Dendrinos/MOm

🐾Animal Care | 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡: 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝘀 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 🐌

The EAZA Terrestrial Invertebrate Taxon Advisory Group has published new guidelines to improve the care of four Critically Endangered snail species from the Desertas Islands, all part of the EAZA Ex situ Programme.

Key highlights from the document:

🐌The small size of hatchlings and juveniles calls for specific equipment to better care for them.

🏠 Housing and diet requirements are modest, though keeping methods need to adapt as institutional population sizes grow.

🌡️ Mimicking the seasonal temperature and humidity patterns of the Desertas Islands supports breeding and produces healthy populations suitable for reintroduction.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲➡️ https://loom.ly/mOB-ouk

*Congratulations to all involved in producing this document! 🎉
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📸©️1: 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘪 by Chester Zoo; 2: 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘭𝘢 by Katie Kelton; 3: 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 by Katie Kelton; 𝘈𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 by Dinarte Teixeira.

🤝Community | 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗘𝗔𝗭𝗔-𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀! 👏

Every five years, EAZA Members are re-assessed through a rigorous peer-review accreditation process. This ensures they continue to meet EAZA’s advanced standards in animal welfare, conservation, education, research and institutional practice.

From now until September, we will be spotlighting every zoo/aquarium that achieved full EAZA membership in April. First up:
📍 Parc de l'Auxois (France)
📍 Kölner Zoo (Germany)
📍 Shepreth Wildlife Park (UK)

Congratulations to all three! 🎉 Stay tuned for more celebrations.