30 Years ago, the AZA’s forerunner, the AAZPA had virtually no scientific staff. Let’s see, I guess it just about had a species survival plan. We just started it 30 years ago and not long before that we started the accreditation program, but all of these efforts to professionalize the association that we take for granted in the AZA did not exist then, they do now. It is troubling, however, that some of our highest zoo officials are poorly versed in zoology and in the processes of conservation and science. That is something that I think was more of a problem 30 years ago. And one can hope and work to affect the change. The United States and most countries, have long believed that any sort of training is unnecessary for a high public office. You have to have more training to be a taxi driver than you do to run for high public office.
