Zoo Populations Become a Support:
Captive populations become refugees in stationary arks - held as an insurance against extinction. Most important is that zoo populations become a support NOT A SUBSTITUTE for the wild. Increasingly, captive animals will be used to augment small wild populations. Animals seen in zoos today may not be put back into the wild. However their genetic material may be put back into the wild via their offspring. These offspring may have been conceived naturally or through techniques such as artificial insemination or embryo transfer. The technology for this has been developed in zoos over the last two decades.

World Zoo Conservation Strategy:
In 1993 the first edition of the World Zoo Conservation Strategy was released under the initiative of the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA) and the Captive Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The strategy defined the conditions which zoos and aquaria must satisfy in order to realise their full potential in conservation, with the overall aim of helping conserve the Earth’s fast-disappearing wildlife and biodiversity.

It emphasised that ‘the integrated role of zoo education, research and species and habitat conservation, combined with the enormous public interest in zoos, and the ever more intensive co-operation within the world-wide zoo network, results in a great potential for conservation. It is the duty of the zoo world to make full use of this potential for nature conservation on a local, regional and global scale’.

Support Conservation:
Since people are visiting zoos in their own free time, they are open to receiving information. Good zoos have strong conservation messages incorporated in graphics, literature and educational programmes such as talks and formal classes. These can raise awareness on a variety of issues, including the illegal trade in animal parts and saving local as well as international habitats.

With 600 million people, 10% of the world population, visiting zoos each year there is huge potential for zoos to encourage public awareness of and support for conservation worldwide.

Zoo personnel acquire considerable knowledge on the species they look after. This can be put to use in field situations e.g. keepers from Twycross Zoo has helped in rehabilitation programmes for orphaned gibbons in Asia and with a Sumatran Orangutan rehabilitation project. Zoos can provide useful research on a range of subjects including nutrition, interactions with the environment, reproductive biology, epidemiology, physiology and endocrinology. Several zoos are using this research for reintroduction programmes and helping established populations. The research that is done often also provides vital training for people who want to go into the field.

Zoos support conservation projects financially by donating money and equipment. For instance, every year the Federation of Zoos of the United Kingdom and Ireland launch awareness and fund raising campaign (Twycross Zoo is a member of the Federation). Money has been given to help Tigers in the wild, promote primates and help native species.