Today, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium formally submitted its request to the Executive Committee of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) to appeal the Commission’s denial of the Zoo for accreditation.

In the report provided to the Zoo following the inspection that took place this summer, the Accreditation Commission commended the Zoo on several points of exemplary work and the numerous changes that had already been enacted by new leadership, including new policies and reporting structures for acquisition and disposition of Ambassador Animals in the Animal Programs department. However, the Commission ruled it wants to see that these changes can be sustained before accrediting the Zoo. It also expressed concern about inappropriate financial management issues under previous leadership. As a result, the Zoo's Board of Directors initiated a forensic analysis that identified the misuse of Zoo assets by the former leaders. These issues are still under investigation by the State of Ohio.

The AZA Executive Committee must decide within 45 days whether to grant the Zoo’s request to appeal the Commission’s ruling. If the request to submit an appeal is granted, the Zoo’s appeal will be heard by the AZA Board of Directors at its next regularly scheduled meeting in January 2022.

During the appeal period, the Zoo remains accredited by the AZA.

The Columbus Zoo is committed to being transparent about the process and will share the outcome publicly; however, it will not provide detailed information about the content of its appeal to maintain the integrity during this process. In addition, there are elements of the report that are confidential to the Zoo's internal operations about the safety and security of the animals, staff, and guests, which is also important to safeguard. When the appeal process is complete, we plan to update the public accordingly.

The Zoo's leadership and the Board of Directors informed the AZA of its intention to appeal the decision and offered an alternative option to table the Zoo's accreditation for one year, providing the Zoo time for changes and improvements to be sustained a longer period of time.