WELLINGTON ZOO ANNUAL REPORT 2019 / 2020 06 08 10 12 Trust Chair Report Chief Executive Report COVID-19 Our New Strategy & Me Tiaki, Kia Ora 14 26 42 68 94 Whānau Tinana Hinengaro Wairua Oranga Our Role Our Animals Our Purpose Our Community A Healthy Organisation Integrating the United 15 World leading animal 27 Recognition and 43 Engaging, message 68 Model values 95 Nations Sustainable care so the animals live involvement of the driven experiences aligned behaviours Development Goals: their best lives Zoo’s conservation to build community Life On Land, Life expertise environmental action Sustain a safety 96 Below Water, Climate Science based animal 36 conscious culture Action, Quality welfare practices so Effective field 56 Integrating Te Ao 88 Education, Responsible the animals are happy partnerships for long Māori within the Zoo Embed wellbeing 99 Consumption and term conservation for our people Production, and Strategic species 38 outcomes Maintaining lasting 89 Sustainable Cities and planning for our site partnerships for Grow our people 105 Communities and staff expertise Focused investment 64 community support through learning Contents in conservation and conservation and development Developing 18 innovations outcomes initiatives for social, Sustain financial 116 environmental and success by data economic sustainability driven decision making Commit to 118 outstanding daily visitor care 130 134 Improve and 121 maintain the physical assets Independent Financial Statements Auditor’s Report Meet all legal 125 and compliance requirements 02 | Contents WHĀNAU HINENGARO ORANGA Our Role Our Purpose A Healthy Organisation Achieved Developed a Our Chief Executive Toitū carbonzero new Conservation Strategy was elected to the certification for World Association of Zoos seventh year running and Aquariums Council Contributed $582,613 (WAZA) and appointed directly to field conservation Chair of the Ethics and Welcomed over through donations and staff Animal Welfare Committee 50,000 visitors for time free in May and June TINANA WAIRUA Our Animals Our Community Our reptile breeding facility Te Piringa Iti became Launched the operational Launched two Local Conservation Grants EV charging stations Programme supporting The Nest Te Kōhanga Celebrated ten years of six regional projects Customer Relationship treated 496 native animals The Nest Te Kōhanga Management (CRM) system Salesforce was Highlights Successfully bred implemented with the Reached 50,000 followers Goliath Bird-Eating launch of phase 1 on Facebook and 10,000 on Tarantula spiderlings Instagram Birth of critically Installed our conservation endangered action mural Cotton-Top Tamarin 04 | Highlights Trust Chair The Zoo is a community place and we We are still ambitious for more success have welcomed our community with in 2020/21 by focussing on the recovery Report open arms and aroha in line with our from COVID-19. Part of this work will be organisational value of Manaakitanga. further planning and progress on the As part of Wellington City Council’s Snow Leopard project – an exciting new pandemic plan we opened the Zoo for experience due to be opened in early free from 16 May – 30 June and this 2022. gave us an opportunity to welcome Craig Ellison our community back to the Zoo after I would like to express my thanks for the Chair, Wellington Zoo Trust the COVID-19 crisis. It was fantastic to dedication of our Trustees in embracing see so many come to the Zoo when we the work of the Zoo. I would also like reopened – both for us and the animals to thank our brilliant Zoo team for in the Zoo. their response to the COVID-19 crisis. Working together, the Board and our Wellington Zoo has now completed one As a progressive zoo we have reviewed people have come through this together. year of its strategy for 2019-23. We were on our Conservation Strategy this year – As the Our Say, Our Future staff survey track to achieve great success in our strategic conservation of wildlife and wild places completed this year showed – working focus areas until March 2020 when, for us is at our heart. The Conservation Strategy together we can be a louder voice to be all, COVID-19 hit with a huge impact on our sets a clear direction for our important heard for all the values the Zoo holds organisation. We were closed to visitors from conservation work. Our construction dear. 23 March – 15 May and of course, this greatly work also supports our conservation affected our visitor revenue for 2019/20. So, work and I am particularly proud of We look forward to an exciting year while we have achieved or exceeded all our Te Piringa Iti, our new reptile breeding ahead. non-financial targets, understandably, we have facility which was completed this year not done so with our financial measures. and has already seen the arrival of Me Tiaki, Kia Ora! a Moko Kākāriki Wellington Green We responded, as the Zoo with the biggest Gecko, a local species of conservation heart, to COVID-19 and made sure our animals importance. and our people were well cared for and supported. Now we will look to rebuild and Our flagship animal hospital, The Nest regenerate over the coming year based on our Te Kōhanga, was ten years old in 2019 strategic priorities of Oranga, Wairua, Whānau, and we celebrated with The Nestival in Hinengaro and Tinana. December. Trust Chair Report | 07 moved to Orana Wildlife Park and three male Nyala who went to Keystone Wildife Conservancy. Sadly, we farewelled four animals whose deaths shook us hard. Chief Djembe, the Lioness, Yindi the Dingo and Rosebud the Kunekune are all greatly missed at the Zoo. Skipper the Nyala, died from fireworks stress and we hope to never see this again in our Zoo. We Executive ask that people do not use fireworks anywhere near the perimeter of the Zoo. Our sustainability work was enhanced this year by the development of our Report Climate Change Position Statement and receiving Toitū carbonzero certification for the seventh year. Climate Action is one of our driving forces and is Wellington Zoo, like other organisations, has time we had 50,891 visitors. It was wonderful imperative to build a better world for had to embrace change and rise to challenges seeing families enjoying the Zoo after months of people and animals. in 2019/20. COVID-19 created a situation lockdown. where Wellington Zoo was closed for nearly We have been well supported this year two months, which has never happened before Prior to COVID-19 we were well on the way by our funders and supporters and this in our 114 year history. Wellington Zoo has to delivering the measures for our strategic is greatly appreciated. As we strive to survived the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, focus areas of conservation, animal welfare, achieve our goals we must grow our two World Wars, the Great Depression and the sustainability and community. As the Zoo with funding base. As a charitable trust this is Global Financial Crisis – we know we will survive the biggest heart we supported our people to always our greatest challenge. With the COVID-19 with the challenges and opportunities work with our conservation partners to support total effects of COVID-19 still unknown it has presented. the Kākāpō response, NIWA Antarctica research, we appreciate the support we have from Chimpanzees in Senegal and TRAFFIC South our community, funders and supporters. We responded to the COVID-19 crisis as a East Asia in their fight against illegal animal united team. We took inspiration from the trade. The launch of our Local Conservation As we prepare to start 2020/21 I am resilience and perseverance of our people and Grants Programme this year has enabled us to excited for what we have planned for cared for our animals and our people together. support innovative projects to support local Wellington Zoo over the coming year. Our online community grew in number and their conservation initiatives. Our people give their very best selves to engagement with our people and animals in a make Wellington Zoo a wonderful place Karen Fifield MNZM time of crisis was uplifting. We welcomed new animals to Wellington Zoo and we thank everyone who has Chief Executive, Wellington Zoo Trust including two female Tasmanian Devils and two supported Wellington Zoo in 2019/20; We welcomed 220,607 visitors this year, and we male Squirrel Monkeys. We celebrated animals we can’t do our important work without appreciate how important community support born at Wellington Zoo this year including you. We will be striving to ensure that is for our success. As part of Wellington City Squirrel Monkeys, a Cotton-Top Tamarin, Goliath next year brings success for our Zoo Council’s Pandemic Plan the Zoo opened for Bird-Eating Tarantula spiders and Nyala. Some as we rebuild and regenerate after free from 16 May until 30 June. During this animals left the Zoo such as two Porcupines who COVID-19. Me Tiaki, Kia Ora! Chief Executive Report | 09 COVID -19 This year we have experienced unexpected The Safety, Assets and Sustainability team were with great animal content; and to showcase disruption, like every organisation has, due also split into two rosters to ensure they could the learning and engagement initiatives to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. safely be on site each day. we developed. We continued to regularly Throughout this report you will see mention of communicate with those community members COVID-19, and how it has affected every facet of A large number of our team managed to work on our mailing list, to update them on what was the Zoo’s operations from visitation to updating effectively from home during Alert Levels 2, happening at the Zoo and to thank them for the vehicle fleet.