EAZA NEWS 48 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

EAZA News 48 – 2004
o4
October - November - December
21st EAZA Annual Conference in Kolmarden
The very successful 21st EAZA Annual Conference was
attended by approximately 460 participants representing
some 175 member zoos and aquaria in some thirty countries.
The conference was officially opened by the managing director
of Kolmarden Zoo, Mr. Magnus Nilsson, on 22 September.
Other speakers in the opening session included Bengt Holst
(EEP Committee chairman), Koen Brouwer (EAZA executive
director) and Bert de Boer (EAZA chairman).
From the EAZA Office
The Kolmarden conference unofficially ‘kicked-off’ on Tuesday 21 September when approximately 35 TAG chairs gathered
to discuss collection planning issues. Over the next four days of the conference approximately 85 meetings were held,
12 workshops conducted and 75 presentations given. The EAZA AGM on 25 September was followed by the official closure
of the conference during which Magnus Nilsson handed the ‘EAZA Annual Conference flag’ over to Jo Gipps, representing
next year’s host Bristol Zoo.
The very well organised and productive conference was closed by a farewell dinner in a beautiful, recently renovated old
paper factory in Norrkoping. Eight awards for significant achievements were handed out by the chairman. The evening
ended with a fantastic ABBA show and hundreds of enthusiastically dancing participants.
Spectacular result
EAZA Tiger Campaign
The preliminary results of the fundraising part of the
EAZA Tiger Campaign were proudly made available at the
EAZA Annual Conference in Kolmarden during the official
closure session of the EAZA Tiger Campaign on 23 September.
The 132 participating EAZA members collectively raised
a spectacular sum of € 663,853.61 for the selected tiger
conservation projects in Thailand, Indonesia, India and
Russia. Please refer to the Campaign section for more
details on the closing of this successful campaign.
Membership news
Four new EAZA members were approved by EAZA Council
upon recommendation of the EAZA Membership and
Ethics Committee: two full members (St Malo Aquarium
in France and Living Coasts in the UK) and two temporary
members (Dierenrijk Europa in the Netherlands and Selwo
Marina in Spain). Furthermore, Valencia Bioparc, a zoo under
construction in Spain, and Bydgoszcz Zoo, a zoo in Poland
that needs to upgrade its standards under the guidance of the
EAZA Committee on Technical Assistance and Animal Welfare,
were awarded Candidate for Membership. More information
on the four new members can be found in the section
‘Welcome to EAZA’ elsewhere in this issue. Additionally, two
former temporary members of EAZA were upgraded to full
membership: Selwo Aventura in Spain and Attica Zoo in Greece.
EAZA Code of Practice adopted
The EAZA AGM approved the EAZA Code of Practice in
Kolmarden on 25 September. The EAZA Code of Practice
intends to help maintain a high standard of conduct among
EAZA members, thereby ensuring the members’ position as
leaders in the zoo profession and their responsible stewardship
of the species entrusted to their care. Each member will receive
a copy of the Code of Practice, and the code will be available
on the EAZA website in several languages in the future.