A Zoo Visitor's Thoughts

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Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Zoos are for adults, too!

... So why are so many zoos creating membership categories that favor families with young children and eliminating categories that encourage single adults or adults with grown children to visit the zoo?

Until recently, almost all zoos offered individual memberships that allowed the member to bring one guest of any age in addition to various other categories designed for families.

But within the past year or so, many zoos have changed the individual membership category to specify that the guest must be a child, or in some cases, a child or a senior citizen.

Why specify the age range of the guest?

In addition, new membership categories have been added to allow families to bring babysitters and grandparents. Obviously, zoos are presenting themselves as places for children, which is good. All children should visit zoos often.

But zoos should also be considered places where adults of any age can go to learn, to go for an outdoor walk, and to relax.

Are zoo directors forgetting that single adults, young adults, and adults with grown children are the ones who are most likely to have money to spare to donate to wildlife conservation efforts?

This "age discrimination" does not make sense from any perspective!

posted by Zoo Visitor | 1 comments

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