They’re selected for us by a nominating committee. We used to be a lot more open about what was going on and that’s all been changed and you know, I mean, nothing gets better without change, but I’m just not sure we’re at the final evolution yet. Read More
What issues would you like the AZA to be addressing now?… Read More
Well, I can tell you at the time that the first one that I do think it was a mistake. I understand the thinking for that ‘cos I was on the board during that time and a lot of discussions. The single most important vote I think we took, and… Read More
There’s no question we live in such a mixture. In fact, our association is undefined. You know, I’m starting to have pretty strong feelings about what I think it should be, but you know, the purest will say well, there’s no guarantee that the zoo will be there tomorrow if… Read More
And there’s been some changes in the governance. And I don’t think it’s resolved. I personally think to be successful, I think it has to be more institutional oriented. And it’s a combination right now of membership and institution. And it’s hard to blend those together because the deeds are… Read More
And then in 2010, the AZA decided the banning private participation was a mistake. Read More
What’s your opinion?… Read More
Can you build a zoo with an airtight insulation against interference, external, political, or otherwise?… Read More
If you have your own money to do it. And a private individual can come pretty close to having a lot of those things done. The only thing I can tell you, whether you’re a zoological society, even those that are almost pure like San Diego, I mean, they still… Read More
In 2000, non AZA, it’s kind of a two part thing. In 2000, non AZA zoos and private breeders were essentially banned from participating in SSP plans. Read More
Did that hurt or help zoos?… Read More
What issues would you like to see zoos address in the future?… Read More
I think the biggest one, I mean, without animals, we don’t have zoos. That’s plain and simple. We can talk all sorts of things about various SSPs and TAGs and now safe in dealing with outside entities and commercial and private. But there’s no question to me from the biology… Read More
And there’s a thin line how San Diego handled that. But there’s no question in my mind that that has gotta be resolved. And you know, that can eventually go the other way too. There are populations in the wild out there that it’s easy to say well, you send… Read More
What issues caused you the most concern during your career and how do you see the future regarding these same concerns?… Read More
You know, the one interesting concern for me and I still don’t know where I fully lie on it, but is the traveling exhibits. You know, we had the white alligator, we got the koalas and Komodo dragons and you know, saw how much visitation they brought in. And I… Read More
I was surprised of some zoos when they did things like that, but it comes down to your gut reaction and you know, the easier things were those white alligators or those big snapping turtles. I mean, white alligators look like chocolate to me, but it brought in a lot… Read More
And they’re all meeting at the same time at the midyear meeting. And they’re getting exposed to the older ones. They’re getting mentored at a great basis. I think it’s showing great results. Bird people got it together in that aspect. What changes have you seen during your years in… Read More
Or if it’s a hundred degrees out, they’re at the movie theater where it’s nice and air conditioned. And it wasn’t so much other cultural institutions at times. They want a more personal experience coming to the zoo than they did in the old days. I mean, I think it’s… Read More
We did a fundraising thing yearly called Zoobilee that averaged 60 some restaurants, 25 to 30 different bars, sometimes different kinds of specialty drinks at some of them. Five, six bands, a live auction, a silent auction. The last two years there, we grossed over a million dollars in one… Read More