Accredications

September 2004, Granby Zoo obtained its accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA – www.aza.org), renewable in 2009. The Granby Zoo is the second institution to be accredited in Quebec and the fifth in Canada. It is now part of a select group that includes the Montreal Biodome, the Toronto Zoo, the Calgary Zoo and the Vancouver Aquarium.

AZA is a leader in North America in the establishment and maintenance of high standards for zoos and aquariums. The Granby Zoo is now one of over 200 accredited Nortams, in the conservation, research and education of the public.

The Granby Zoo also takes part in various conservation and education programs. The goal of these programs is to maintain the health of captive animal populations so that these populations can regenerate while preserving the biodiversity and stability of the demography.

This accreditation also allows the Granby Zoo privileged access to the other members’ animal population to acquire or place animals.

The AZA accreditation automatically gives accreditation to the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA – www.caza.ca)

Since early 2005, the Zoo is also a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA – www.waza.org) becoming the only member in Quebec, and the third in Canada. There are 52 WAZA members in the United States.

      To become a WAZA member, an institution must have been accredited by an association such as AZA and be sponsored by two institutions already recognized by WAZA. The Granby Zoo’s candidacy was supported by the direction of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Tampa Bay’s Lowry Park Zoo.

      One of the undeniable advantages in joining this group is the network to which the Granby Zoo now has access.

     Lastly, the Granby Zoo also distinguished itself in 2004 by placing among the 25 best zoological institutions for the quality of the records it keeps on its animal population. These records are entered in the International Species Inventory System (ISIS) to which almost 600 of the world’s zoos and aquariums participate. One more proof that the Granby Zoo is a large-scale tourist enterprise, recognized for its dynamism, its expertise, its innovative spirit and the quality of its work.

       ISIS is a global database that gathers information on animals from wild species kept in captivity. This database contains information on 1.65 million animals from about 10,000 species, housed in 586 institutions, in 72 countries of the five continents. Included in the information is the age, sex, parents, birth place and circumstance of death of each animal identified by a lifelong number. The quality and precision of the data are important to avoid any mistakes in the animal’s pedigree. ISIS was founded in 1973 and the Granby Zoo has been a member since 1979.

Thanks to its software that is increasingly adapted to the needs of institutions, ISIS provides valuable tools in the long term planning of animal populations in zoological gardens, within a planetary perspective, taking into account the genetic and demographic data of the species. For additional information you can visit their web site at www.isis.org.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors consists of persons who volunteer their time and expertise to a non-profit organisation that is dear to their heart: the Granby Zoo. The Board Members decide which medium and long- range main trends will guide each undertaken initiative. The Board’s objective is to have the Granby Zoo play an increasingly important role notably in the fields of conservation and education, while remaining a leader within Quebec’s major tourist attractions.

Jacques Légaré, Chairman
Simon Deslandes, 1st Vice-president
Jacques Viens, 2nd Vice-president
Danielle Béliveau, Administrator
Marc Breton, Administrator
Marie Benoit , Administrator
Michel Simard, Administrator
Serge Ménard, Administrator

Christine Vaillancourt, Administrator

Géatan Martineau, Immediate Past President

Management Committee

Joanne Lalumière, General Director

Mireille Forand, Administrative Assistant to General Direction
Bernard Boulay, Director, Maintenance and Construction

Frédéric Boulva , Director, Guest Services

Marjolaine Beaulieu, Director, Finances

Alain Fafard, Director, Conservation and Animal Care

Laurent Guilbault , Director, Human Resources

Paul Labrecque, Director, Foundation and Public Relations

Catherine Page, Director, Communications
Patrick Paré, Director, Education, Environment, Research



Agence Merlicom
Management of Outsourced Sales and Marketing Communications

The History of the Granby Zoo

The Granby Zoo was founded by Mr. Pierre-Horace Boivin, a man who deeply influenced the course of the City of Granby’s history. Granby’s mayor (1939 to 1964) and one of its great industrialists, he also started up the City’s daily newspaper, La Voix de l’Est; it is celebrating its 70th birthday in 2005.



Pierre-Horace Boivin had always loved animals. As a youth he owned half a dozen dogs that he had trained. He then cared for horses and a goat born with only three legs. His collection gradually increased. He undertook the construction of the zoo shortly following his election as mayor of Granby. In 1944 he convinced three of his friends to give him a piece of land running along Bourget Street; it didn’t take long before the Granby Zoo was short on space. The need for this first expansion was due to Mr. Boivin’s habit of asking his hosts during his travels for an animal to place in his zoo.

Mr. Boivin had however found the perfect site: a piece of land that the Notre-Dame parish owned, in anticipation of having to expand their cemetery some day. He convinced the parish that this land would not be useful to them and succeeded in getting them to part with 60 acres. In 1953, the Zoo was officially transferred to the Granby Zoological Society which then handled its management, its development and its move to the present site.


The Zoo does not lack in anecdotes: Ambika, the baby elephant given to the children of Granby by Nehru; the beavers given to Prince Rainier as a wedding present; the orphaned giraffe from the Copenhagen Zoo adopted by the Granby Zoo… For Mr. Boivin, each occasion was a good opportunity to highlight his city and enrich the Zoo’s population.

Major construction projects multiplied, the zoo’s population diversified and the visitors poured in. The Granby Zoological Garden earned its stripes and became a major tourist attraction in Quebec.

The Granby Zoo celebrated its 50th birthday in 2003 but, sadly, without its founder who passed away in 1993. Nearly all the members of his family took part in the celebrations.

Since 1999, the Zoo has been welcoming an average of 516,000 visitors each year. Its collection consists of over 1,000 animals from some 200 species.



 

Mission and Goals of the Granby Zoo

THE GRANBY ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY MISSION
The Granby Zoological Society is committed to promoting a responsible attitude towards our natural environment by dedicating its efforts to the understanding, appreciation and conservation of living beings and their habitats.

GOALS
1) CONSERVATION of an animal collection and preservation of the genetic diversity of the kept species, principally of precarious and exotic status, in an environment that provides installations mindful of nature and the specimens.

2) EDUCATION of the population through contemporary means of communication in keeping with our vision, our expertise and our goals.

3) ENTERTAINMENT of its clientele via recreational tourist installations and certain derivative products mindful of the environment, nature and the individual.

Awards

2008

National winner 2008, « Grands prix du tourisme », in the category « Tourist Attractions with 100,000 visitors or more ».

2005

Regional winner 2005, Les Grands Prix du tourisme Desjardins for the Eastern Townships, in the category of tourist attraction with 50,000 or more visitors

Finalist at the 2005 Mercuriades; in the category of contribution by a SME to the regional economic development.



2004

Recipient of the Prix Distinction Or, awarded by the Granby-Bromont Chamber of Commerce in the category Entreprise touristique – Grande entreprise.

Special jury prize – Les Grands prix du tourisme Desjardins , Eastern Townships

Finalist at the 2004 Mercuriades in the category of contribution by a large enterprise to the regional economic development.

2003

National Assembly of Quebec medal.

Special jury mention for 50 years of support to the tourism industry - Grands prix du tourisme, Eastern Townships.

Commemorative envelope issued by Canada Post on the occasion of the Zoo’s 50th anniversary.

Jury prize – Prix Distinction, the Granby-Bromont Region Chamber of Commerce.

Nominated for the Prix Distinction of the Granby-Bromont Region Chamber of Commerce in the category Entreprise touristique – Grande entreprise


2002

Drowning Prevention Ambassador Prize awarded by the Lifesaving Society


2000

Provincial winner of Attractions Canada’s « New attraction» category

Winner of the National Or award from the Grands prix du tourisme québécois, in the category of tourist attraction with 100,000 and more visitors.

Regional winner – Grands prix du tourisme Cantons-de-l’Est, in the category of tourist attraction with 100,000 and more visitors.

Drowning Prevention Ambassador Prize awarded by the Lifesaving Society

Finalist at the 2000 Mercuriades in the category of new investment project.


1999

Récipient of the Prix Distinction de la Chambre de commerce région Granby-Bromont, in the recreational tourism category.