Zooming in on Europe's Zoos - Anthony Sheridan

The groups are as follows:-

A:- 1,000,000+ visitors annually
B:- 500,000 + visitors annually
C:- 250,000+ visitors annually
D:- EAZA candidate zoos
E:- German medium sized zoos

 

Surely not? Something completely, shamelessly, unambiguously arbitrary? In a Sheridan book? It can't be!



Bad luck to medium-sized zoos in any of 40-odd other countries. (Not to mention plenty of other good medium-sized German zoos!)

I really wish he'd just call it 'Other Zoos I've Visited' and make a clean breast of it. It's this false authority that so puts me off his work, that could be so valuable.

 

The rationale given for this category is:-

They are highly respected and successful German zoos whose visitor numbers could place them in Group C but whose animal collection lacks most of the larger mammal species compared with Group C zoos.

The exception has been made for German zoos because Germany has the largest number of zoos and largest number of zoo visitors in Europe.

 

The new Group E (German medium sized zoos) does appear a somewhat illogical category.

However any mechanism for grouping and ranking zoos would probably prove contentious; choosing the best zoos will always be subjective. It would be impossible to define a completely objective ranking algorithm that pleases everybody.

I’m not defending the way zoos are categorised or ranked in this book but it would be sad if quibbling over this detracted from the value of this volume. The wealth of detailed information provided makes this an extremely useful reference work; I am very pleased with my copy.

 

Indeed - so why does he pretend that it is objective?

If it's a book of stats and his opinions on what's important to him about the zoos then that's fine by me, potentially very interesting, but not if it's claiming to be something else. Every time I've looked at the book it just frustrates me*.

Ah well, I'm sure he's put a lot of work in to it and I'm glad people get value from it.




*without wanting to make things too personal, I may be being influenced by having talked to him...

 

This genuinely brightened my day. Like Maguari, though, I'm glad others find What Zoos Can Do more worthwhile than me.

As TLD has said, Tim Brown's book is a different animal: informed, focused, and well produced. I don't always agree with him, but it's a worthy addition to any enthusiast's library.

 

I'm pretty sure he'd be disappointed if you did, he loves a debate.

I'm in the camp that finds Sheridan's original book useful but far from comprehensive, definitive or logical (among many other frustrations, he has too much of a penchant for certain species and their inclusion in a collection seems to guarantee their inclusion in "best exhibits" regardless of their actual quality). Basically the whole endeavour feels like a massive missed opportunity and, most likely, blocks the market for other better guides to be (non-self) published.

I'd be interested to know (Tim May please) whether the new volume has decent maps of all collections? For me that'd probably be the tipping point on whether I purchased.

If only Tim Brown published a pan-European guide, I'd buy that sight unseen.

 

Except that he's now included a zoo in Serbia, which is neither an EU or an EFTA member, so I suspect he'll find a way to keep the UK within the scope of his project after all.

 

Thanks, Chlidonias! A pity it cannot be downloaded as a pdf.

 

The new volume does include a small map of most of the zoos featured.

 

Thanks Tim, appreciated.

 

And his candidate for EAZA category is already outdated as Kosice Zoo became a full member at the last EAZA annual conference in Belfast.

 

Or the Directors of the said collections have deemed to sit down chat with him and let him ask a whole pile of pointless questions,so he can have a nice trip and boast about having yet another director as a friend!

Any Director with any sense would do what Susie Boardman did when he chatted with her about the future of Twycross give a whole pile of bull ****,and let him swallow it and than publish it word for word,I know I for one didn't stop laughing at what was said to be happening at Twycross,as we knew it wasn't going to happen!