This week we celebrate the annual meeting of Directors of Zoological Institutions From the aAssociation of Zoos, Breeders and Aquariums of Mexico (AZCARM) in it Sahuatoba Zoo in Durango.
We met wildlife specialists that in recent years We have faced challenges unprecedented situations that have tested our work, our determination and our commitment to the protection and care of animals and biodiversity of our country.
Since I assumed the presidency of the Association of Zoos, Breeders and Aquariums of Mexico (AZCARM)In 2016, I have dedicated myself to working tirelessly to defend the work of this incredible guild and to ensure the survival and increasingly better functioning of our zoos, breeding farms, aquariums and dolphinariums.
We have carried out species recoveries unimaginable and heroic rescues, such as the protection of the manatees of Tabasco, the rescue of hundreds of birds seized from illegal trafficking in Mexico City and of course the rescue of more than 100 felines from the Black Jaguar Foundation property, just two years ago. And we have provided a safe home to hundreds of animals seized by the authorities.
These achievements have been proof and testimony of the indispensable work and the authentic and true knowledge and commitment that each of us has towards wild animals.
However, our work is confronted every day by petty economic interests, a lot of ignorance and social and political movements that have realised how profitable it is to use animals as loot, as a source of votes, income and popularity.
We have been the subject of constant attacks on social media by activists, influencers and even by authorities and officials. Attacks that, most of the time, do not emanate from a properly founded criterion or ideology of their own, but from narratives constructed from misinformation, subjectivity and also from hatred with a touch of sentimentality, where they are the good guys and we are the bad guys.
What better way to profit and take political or economic advantage or to quickly obtain fame and recognition without studying, working or fighting. That popularity that many people today want to achieve even at the cost of their own beliefs, values and even their integrity.
These attacks have not only affected our public image, we must accept that as a guild they have also meant a hard blow to our emotional well-being and to our desire to continue working for and on behalf of wildlife.
Despite this, we have remained standing, firm, working even harder to demonstrate the irreplaceable and enormous value of our work.
Zoological institutions are not only leaders in animal welfare, wildlife conservation, education and research, but we are also paving the way for a more sustainable future in which animals, people and the health of the planet can thrive.
The UN itself has recognized that zoos play an important role in achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
We are doing this with educational programs for millions of children; with rewilding projects; with on-site work that we are doing with indigenous peoples and local communities, such as currently with our Citizen Science Observatory in Tabasco; with the incorporation of the highest quality technologies for water and waste treatment; and of course with various initiatives that we have presented to the legislative branch, ranging from combating species trafficking through social networks, the inclusion of the subject of Biodiversity in basic education levels, to laws to protect our ecosystems and guarantee the sustainable management of wildlife.
And while we are making all these efforts and the environmental authorities themselves ask us for help in the rescue, rehabilitation and protection of the thousands of animals they seize from illegal trafficking, at the same time they complicate our work with bureaucratic obstacles and arbitrary inspections.
To make myself clear, we have been the main allies of the Mexican environmental authorities in the rescue of wildlife and they have mistreated us as if we were enemies. I would like to ask you: What would you have done during this six-year term and what would you do in the coming years if zoos ceased to exist?
With hope for the future, we trust that the next government, led for the first time by a female scientist, by Virtual President Claudia Sheinbaum, will radically transform Mexico’s environmental policy. Our biodiversity and natural resources are our greatest wealth, and I will never tire of saying that it is imperative to invest in their sustainable use so that many sectors of the population can live with dignity from them.
Excessive prohibitions, bureaucracy and lack of experience in environmental authorities have led to disasters that we cannot allow to continue, such as the recent mass death of howler monkeys in southeastern Mexico and the imminent disappearance of the Vaquita Marina in the Gulf of California.
We, a very important part of the guild that works daily with wildlife under human care, agreed that we will continue to do so together, firm in our mission, to ensure a future in which our zoos, hatcheries and aquariums not only survive, but thrive as the most important spaces for species conservation, rescue of specimens and environmental education in our country.
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