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Zoo Collection Planning: A Practical Guide to Responsible Care - "A Collection Plan Is a Promise".

Writer: carlgroombridge71
carlgroombridge71
7 days ago
6 min read
Infographic titled A collection plan is a promise, showing seven commitment steps around a green circle about long-term species care
"Comprehensive Guide to Collection Planning: Ensure Each Species' Commitment with a 7-Step Process Including Purpose, Welfare, Resources, and Adaptation by Animal Insights Consultancy."

Every species a zoo chooses to care for creates a commitment. A collection plan is where that commitment becomes clear.

 

A new species can bring excitement: a fresh habitat, a compelling story for visitors, a chance to support conservation or a new direction for the organisation. But choosing a species is not just choosing what to display. It means taking responsibility for living animals, often for many years, and for the people, facilities and resources needed to care for them well.

 

That is why a collection plan should be more than a list of animals the organisation hopes to keep. It should be a promise: we have a clear reason for this species to be here, we understand what its care will require, and we are prepared to review whether we are meeting that responsibility.

 

A plan cannot guarantee perfect outcomes. It can make the organisation’s intentions, decisions and responsibilities visible, so they can be tested against real life.

Deer and fawn stand in a grassy field at sunset, with golden light, mountains, and silhouetted trees creating a calm scene.
Deer graze peacefully in a sunlit meadow, silhouetted against a vibrant sunset, with rolling hills and scattered trees in the background.

A promise to the animals

The first commitment is to the individual animals. A species may fit a conservation or education objective on paper, but the organisation still needs to consider whether it can provide appropriate accommodation, husbandry, veterinary care, social arrangements and opportunities for positive welfare.

 

This has to be species-specific and individual-aware. Animals of the same species do not all respond identically to the same environment. A good plan therefore connects the proposed collection to the expertise and facilities required, and leaves room to adapt care as the animals’ needs change.

 

The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s welfare standards define welfare as specific to each individual and emphasise that it is influenced by the animal’s environment, health, diet, social context and behavioural opportunities. The standards apply to EAZA members, but the underlying point is useful to any collection: the responsibility is for the animals’ lived experience, not just the exhibit on a drawing. EAZA Standards for Welfare, Accommodation and Management of Animals in Zoos and Aquariums, 2024

A promise to be honest about the purpose

A collection plan should say why each species is part of the collection. Is the role linked to a coordinated population programme, direct conservation action, research, education, or another clearly stated purpose? What contribution is expected, and how will the organisation know whether it is happening?

 

Keeping a threatened species does not, by itself, prove that a zoo is contributing to its conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission recommends assessing whether ex situ management is appropriate within an integrated conservation strategy. Its decision process asks organisations to define the conservation role, the population needed, the resources and expertise required, and the feasibility and risks, then make a transparent decision. IUCN/SSC Guidelines on the Use of Ex Situ Management for Species Conservation, 2014

 

That is a useful standard of honesty. If the role is education, describe the education goal. If the role is support for field conservation, identify the activity or partner and the intended contribution. If a species is included for more than one reason, say so. Clear purposes make it easier to communicate value without overstating impact.

Flamingos in a pond for zoo collection planning.
Flamingos gather around a tranquil pond near a rustic enclosure, with trees still bare from winter.

A promise of resources, not just good intentions

A plan becomes meaningful when it accounts for what care will actually take: suitable space, appropriate habitat, skilled staff, veterinary provision, food, equipment, training, time and ongoing costs. It should also consider what happens when the original assumptions change: a habitat needs repair, an animal requires additional care, a breeding recommendation changes, or specialist knowledge is no longer available.

 

Professional population-planning systems make these links explicit. EAZA’s population management approach connects regional species planning, coordinated ex situ programmes and long-term management plans. Its guidance describes decisions about population roles and animal movements as part of a structured process, not an isolated acquisition decision. EAZA Population Management

 

For individual institutions, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ collection-planning guidelines similarly describe an institutional collection plan as a systematic decision-making process for selecting and sustaining species, linked to an organisation’s mission and other plans. The guidelines call for the plan to be reviewed and updated periodically. AZA Institutional Collection Planning Guidelines

 

The principle travels beyond membership systems: if an organisation cannot explain how it will sustain the care, it is not ready to make the commitment.

A promise to plan for the whole population

Collection decisions do not stop at the boundary of one zoo. Animals may be part of regional or international managed populations, and decisions about space, breeding, transfers and expertise can affect the viability of those populations.

 

Research by McCann and Powell examined institutional collection plans across 36 zoos and four mammalian groups. They found that although zoos largely included species recommended in regional plans, very few populations reached the population sizes the authors considered minimally robust or robust for viability goals. Their findings are a reminder that selecting a recommended species is only one step: space allocation and collaboration also matter. McCann and Powell, 2018

 

The practical question is not only, “Can we keep this species?” It is also, “Can our role contribute to a responsible, coordinated plan for the animals and population over time?”

A promise that can be reviewed and changed

A plan should not become a document that is written once and left on a shelf. Its value is in the decisions it helps people make and the questions it brings back for review.

 

That review should consider whether the original purpose still makes sense, whether the required expertise and resources remain available, what welfare monitoring shows, and whether the organisation is delivering the role it committed to. If circumstances change, responsible planning means adjusting the plan, not pretending that the original assumptions still hold.

 

This is especially important because conservation, visitor appeal and practical feasibility do not always point in the same direction. A global analysis of more than 450 zoos found associations between collection composition, attendance and contributions to in situ conservation, while also identifying trade-offs between different collection strategies. The study can inform planning, but it does not mean that a particular mix of species will produce the same results for every zoo. Mooney et al., 2020

 

A separate study of curatorial practice found that decisions are shaped by real constraints, including existing buildings and animals, as well as education, visitor value, availability and different interpretations of conservation. Naming those constraints openly makes a plan more useful, not less ambitious. Krause and Robinson, 2021

 

A practical test for a collection plan

Before adding a species, renewing a long-term commitment or reviewing an existing collection, ask:

  • Purpose: Can we explain the species’ role in plain language, and distinguish aspiration from demonstrated impact?

  • Welfare: Can we provide the conditions, expertise and ongoing monitoring the animals need?

  • Resources: Have we costed the whole commitment, including future maintenance, staffing and veterinary needs?

  • Population: Does the decision fit with relevant regional or international management advice?

  • People: Do staff have the skills, time and support to deliver the plan safely and consistently?

  • Review: What evidence will tell us whether the plan is working, and when will we revisit it?

  • Adaptation: If the evidence or circumstances change, who can change the plan and how?

 

A strong collection plan will not remove uncertainty. It will make the organisation’s reasoning clearer, expose gaps before they become harder to fix, and give staff a shared basis for decisions.

The promise behind the species list

A collection plan is a promise to the animals that their needs will guide decisions; to staff that they will have the resources and direction to provide care; to conservation partners that the organisation will be clear about its contribution; and to visitors that the story being told is grounded in real commitments.

 

The promise is not that every plan will unfold exactly as expected. It is that the organisation will make decisions deliberately, provide the care it has committed to, measure what matters and adapt when reality changes.

 

That is what turns a collection plan from a list of species into a living tool for responsible animal care and management.

Reviewing your collection plan?

For more than 35 years, I have worked with zoos, wildlife parks, educational institutions and animal collections across a wide range of species. I provide practical support with collection management, animal welfare, habitat planning, husbandry and staff development.

 

Arrange a relaxed, no-obligation conversation: email contact@animalinsightsconsultancy.com or call 07971 550 320.

 

Carl Groombridge

Director, Animal Insights Consultancy

Fulfilling the niche in the animal sector.

Research and guidance cited










 
 
 

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