Wellington receives ‘Oscar' of zoo awards
Wellington Zoo has won the “Oscar” of zoo awards — and hopes the global recognition will raise awareness of the work “progressive zoos” are doing around the world.
It can be easy to tar all zoos with the same brush, but Wellington Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield said they work hard to distance themselves from zoos with shady ethics and poor quality of animal care.
She returned from Bangkok last week where she accepted the Environmental Sustainability Award at the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) annual conference. The inaugural award was a “big deal” in the industry, Fifield said.
“It’s a bit like winning an Oscar . . . we feel honoured to be recognised for the work we are doing to reduce our impact on the environment.”
Sustainability measures the zoo has taken, include installing 48 solar panels, reducing its water usage with rainwater tanks, using an on-site composter to reduce its waste-tolandfill rate, transitioning to an ethical uniform supplier and an ethical textile disposal organisation, increasing the eco-sourced and sustainable products in the Zoo Shop, and switching to a carboNZero certified electricity retailer.