Animal Keeper's Association of Africa

The PAAZAB conference was hosted by Butterfly World and held in Cape Town.  They did a splendid job of hosting and delegates were well looked after for the duration.  The visit to Butterfly World was wonderful.  The conference was themed around biodiversity.  It included a talk by a climate change specialist Paul Pearce-Kelly from the London Zoo.  This was sobering to say the least.  The focus however was on what we in the zoo community can do to highlight the need for our public to act.  There was much discussion on this subject, and it is required that as zoo keepers, we pick up on this imperative and begin acting to make a difference.  The winning paper was presented by the vet from the Johannesburg zoo, and highlighted the plight of parasites in the race to ensure biodiversity. 

Before the actual conference there was an African Penguin workshop.  All parties who house or intend housing these birds, as well as rehabilitation centres were invited to this workshop.  It is the first of a few workshop.  The next meeting will be held at SEA WORLD on the 20th of July.  If you would like to know more details then contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  The meeting was chaired by Venessa Strauss from SANCOB, and focused on rehabilitation protocols, the conservation status of the birds, as well as what can be done to bolster numbers in the wild.  Sadly, the African Penguin has just been added to the Endangered Species list.