European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria is the largest zoo and aquarium association in the world, with 326 members in 36 countries. It provides membership services and leadership to those zoos and aquaria, promoting the association mission aims of conservation, education and research. EAZA members receive 140 million visitors a year. Since the year 2000 EAZA has coordinated European-wide conservation campaigns on a range of topics including the plight of apes, tigers, rhinos, and chelonians. It has also focused on the complexities of European carnivores and their existence in a crowded continent. Additionally the geographic areas of the Atlantic Coastal Forest in Brazil and Madagascar have been dedicated campaigns. To date more than 4 million Euro has been raised via the campaigns for in situ conservation of biodiversity. In addition EAZA coordinates 342 ex situ conservation breeding programmes. EAZA members formally teach more than 5 million European children a year about biodiversity.