Three-quarters of German-speaking Swiss in favor of zoos

A representative survey conducted in November 2019 by the renowned German opinion research institute Forsa in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland revealed that 74% of Swiss respondents are in favor of the existence of zoos and animal parks. Only 14 percent reject zoos. Consequently, 70 percent of respondents were in favor of financial support for zoos from the public purse. This result of a survey conducted before the coronavirus crisis is relevant in that zoos - unlike zoological museums - have not received any financial support from the Federal Council for the financial damage caused by the lockdown.

The survey also revealed that the protection of biodiversity through the keeping and breeding of endangered species in zoos was rated as important to very important by 87% of Swiss respondents. Other zoo tasks such as commitment to sustainability and environmental protection, education for broad sections of the population and research into animal species were also rated as important by a large majority of respondents. This shows that zoos are perceived as an educational institution, an extracurricular place of learning, a cultural institution, a recreational space and a competence center for animal, species and nature conservation.

A large majority of 80 percent of respondents attest to zoos' expertise in animal husbandry. Just as many are of the opinion that zoos treat their animals responsibly. In addition, 61 percent say that it is okay for wild animals to be kept in zoos. The majority of respondents do not believe that digital media and documentaries can replace a visit to the zoo. Only 33 percent of respondents would consider a good animal movie to be an equivalent substitute. 60 percent believe that a virtual reality zoo would not offer the same experience as a visit to a real zoo.

The PDFs below contain the results of the Forsa study for German-speaking Switzerland as well as a summarized fact sheet. You can order corresponding publications with the results for Germany and Austria at info@zoos.ch.

Further information

Anna Baumann, Director of Goldau Nature and Animal Park and President of zooschweiz,
Tel. 041 859 06 10

Karin Hindenlang, Managing Director of the Zurich Wilderness Park Foundation,
Tel. 044 722 55 22 or karin.hindenlang@wildnispark.ch