I believe there are 6 privately owned zoos in the AZA, and I know The Living Desert Zoo in California is one of them, but what are the other 5?
Are those owned by companies considered "privately owned"? This would include Busch Gardens, DAK, SeaWorld, ZooAmerica, and the Ripley's aquariums, among probably others. Where did you get this number from?
On the Wikipedia page for the Living Desert Zoo, it's described as "The Living Desert is one of six accredited (AZA) private zoos in the United States and operates as a non-profit." Which made me curious about the other 5. Living Desert Zoo and Gardens - Wikipedia I have no idea if this referring to a company or a single person, and I didn't find anything when I quickly searched the AZA website
Aren't most AZA members run by a non-profit nowadays though? I thought "privately owned" meant either an individual or a for-profit company.
In business, "privately owned" usually means one of two things: Owned by an individual, family or partnership, not by a corporation. Not government owned. The Living Desert is owned by a not for profit, and in that respect is not government. However that is the same as most zoos, and it is not owned by a corporation or individual. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it owns the land it sits on, while many other zoos are situated on park or other land owned by a government.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is privately owned. The land and animals are owned by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society. I don’t believe this is entirely accurate. Numbers vary based on where you read them but 6-10 AZA facilities are run without tax support which may be what that quote is referring to.
