Love Your Zoo (LYZ) & Love Your Aquarium (LYA) Week is an annual nationwide event which coincides with May half-term; this year’s campaign runs from the 27th May to the 31st May 2024. Organised by The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), the event encourages BIAZA members to reflect on and promote the important work they carry out in nature conservation, education and research.
Data from the 2024 BIAZA Annual Questionnaire, which was collected from BIAZA member zoos and aquariums in 2023, revealed that:
- Over 32 million visitors are welcomed to BIAZA member zoos and aquariums annually.
- In 2023, more than 1.2 million people visited on an organised educational trip and 21,000 online learning sessions were held, helping to inspire the next generation of conservationists.
- 1,346 research projects were supported by BIAZA members last year.
- Over 1,650 conservation projects were undertaken last year, which includes 435 native species projects.
- BIAZA members spent over £33.5 million in 2023 on field conservation projects, working to help save species and habitats globally.
As a conservation and education charity, we are totally dependent upon ticket sales and other revenue streams to help us to cover operational costs and to carry out our education, conservation and research work.
Thanks to our visitors’ support, in 2023 we were able to send two of The Deep’s Aquarists over to America again, taking with them over 3 decades of husbandry knowledge. They have provided assistance to the volunteers from New England Aquarium in rescuing and rehabilitating a large number of cold-stunned sea turtles, including the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.
Last year, we were also able to undertake a new native conservation project, partnering with the Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project on protecting the Crystal Moss animal. This rare Bryozoan is thought to be isolated to a habitat that only exists in North and North East Lincolnshire, a blow well. Our expertise in water analysis is contributing to this important local initiative.
Please keep an eye out on our website and social media channels to discover more about the conservation projects we are supporting in 2024 and beyond.