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Understanding the animal operations challenges of zoos and wildlife parks in 2026
What 31 UK zoo and wildlife attractions told us about the pressure on the people who care for the collection, and what it means for how the collection is presented to visitors every day.
- Format
- PDF role briefing
- Reading time
- 10 minutes
- Published
- September 2026
- Author
- Bryan Hoare
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What’s inside
Seven challenges, the evidence behind each one, what good looks like, and questions for your next review.
01
Keeping visitor information current
Aligning what visitors see with what is happening in the collection today.
02
Talks, feeds and adopters
Keeping demonstrations, adopters and sponsors up to date without extra admin.
03
Protecting keeper time
26 of 29 name rising staff costs as their biggest pressure.
04
Welfare, visitor pressure and evidence
Telling the welfare story, easing pressure on enclosures and informing collection decisions.
Who it’s for
Who should read
this report
Written for the people who care for the collection and the teams who present it to visitors.
- Curators
- Heads of animal operations
- Head keepers
- Section leaders
- Keeping teams
- Visitor experience colleagues