The Presentation of Conservation Education in Small Scale Animal Parks.

Abstract

Small scale animal parks can play a role in conservation education in the same way
that larger zoos can. In the literature there is no specific details for smaller scale
animal parks and how affective they can be on providing conservation education but
there is plenty of literature that discusses the roles of zoos and the conflict between
them which can be applied to small scale animal parks. This dissertation focuses on
the presentation of conservation education in small scale animal parks. It also looks
at the perceptions of visitors of small scale animal parks.
The research consisted of visiting six small scale animal parks and observing the
methods of presenting conservation education. There were also questionnaires
handed out to visitors of small scale animal parks to gain knowledge on their
perceptions on the presentation of conservation education. The questionnaires were
handed out at one small scale animal park.
The results showed that the presentation of conservation education in small scale
animal parks was very varied. It also showed that visitor’s perceptions on how
conservation education is presented were varied with a variety of methods being
chosen as the best way of presenting conservation education.