Columbus zoo5/16/2023 ![]() “When organizations don't measure something, they're not effectively managing it. “The inspection doesn't leave a stone unturned,” Piekarz said. He likens AZA accreditation to hospital systems striving to earn world-class cardiac-care or cancer-care distinctions. In response, the Columbus Zoo outlined the improvements recently made and said it will appeal the AZA’s decision, which Piekarz emphasized isn’t made lightly. ![]() The Columbus Zoo, and its former president Jack Hanna, were the targets of a recent documentary called “The Conservation Game,” which took aim at the zoo’s alleged mishandling of big baby cats. The Columbus Zoo made news this week when the AZA stripped it of its accreditation for financial missteps by former leadership and, weighing more heavily, the AZA said, mishandling of baby big cats, which were being transferred with non-AZA members for entertainment purposes. He’s been trained for more than a decade to serve as a member of an AZA inspection team, although he played no role in the inspection that led to the Columbus Zoo’s failure to achieve accreditation. “All of them.”ĪZA accredited since 1989, the Akron Zoo received a perfect accreditation inspection report last summer, which in the past 50 years, only two other facilities have achieved, the AZA said, which points to “the stringency and comprehensive nature of the AZA standards and the rigorous process of inspection.” “This is truly the gold standard for animal care, the gold standard for veterinary care, the gold standard for guest engagement and education, and conservation from an impact standpoint, because accreditation makes you demonstrate with data that you are meeting all of the standards,” he said. Loss of accreditation also impacts the overall industry.Piekarz has been trained to serve on an AZA inspection team for more than a decade. ![]()
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