The Wildlife Habitat hosted the opening of a major conference for Queensland’s zoo and wildlife park industry on last Thursday evening.

The focus of the annual Zoo and Aquarium Associations Queensland Branch Conference is to keep the industry relevant in meeting public expectations by striving to deliver excellence in customer service, animal care, education and sustainability.

Conference Organiser and Wildlife Habitat Curator Terry Carmichael said the conference, which ran for two days at Treetops Resort, allowed the industry to share knowledge and keep up to date with the latest industry trends.

“A report released last year revealed that over 15 million people visit zoos and wildlife parks in Australasia annually, and furthermore the Cairns region has the greatest number of zoos or wildlife parks per head of population than any other part of Australasia,” Mr Charmichael said.

“60 delegates represented approximately 25 zoos throughout Queensland, ten of which come from Far North Queensland alone.”

The theme of this year’s conference was “The S Drivers- Survival, Sustainability and Success”, with presentations varying from the delivery of excellent customer service, to the rehabilitation of Cassowaries and the captive breeding of the endangered Mahogany Glider.

Mr Carmichael said the conference also highlights significant changes in standards for animal care within zoos.

“In the last few years, Biosecurity Queensland has taken over the regulatory role for the zoo and wildlife park industry with a greater emphasis placed on animal welfare issues,” he said.

“This change has been embraced by the state’s industry, and we are now engaging with the national industry body creating national standards for the care of our precious animals in captivity.

“When completed, Australia will be the first country in the world to have ratified national standards for animal care within zoos.”

Conference speaker, Clayton Smith from Cairns Tropical Zoo, said zoos have a huge part to play now and well into the future in terms of the welfare of flora and fauna species.

"Australia should be spearheading the change to living a balanced lifestyle that is an integration of nature and our lives," he said.

2010 is the Year of Biodiversity, and Mr Smith said it was important for people to understand their impact on the environment.

"We've lost one third of the biodiversity in the last generation. We are responsible but we also have the power to fix the problem. The role of zoos is to bring awareness of the plight of the world's species and to part of the solution."

Mr Smith said zoos are evolving from what was once a place purely for the entertainment of people, to an educator and protector. "Zoos have changed to create greater awareness. Zoos have become the bastion of biodiversity."

Dreamworld's Al Mucci, President of Zoo Aquarium Association (ZAA) , said the industry's priority is the welfare of its animals.

"Zoos provide the best care to their animals. 5 million people visit Queensland zoos every year. That's more than the population of the State. It shows that we're doing something right."

Mr Mucci said some Government regulations restrict the positive benefits zoos can achieve. "They can hinder and impact zoo operations. Governments need to be mindful that they recognise that impact," he said.

The Wildlife Habitat were winners of the Recommended Tourist Attraction at the recent Port Douglas Magazine Awards.