Matt, we take a lot of pride in our facility, our programs, our mission and the direction we are going. Although places like Reptileland and Tad's place in S.D. are certainly incredible insititutions, our's is right up there with anyone...not that this is a competition; I absolutely DROOL when I see these other facilities and we are a close knit bunch who kick ideas around and are always willing to share our successes (and failures). Some of these are AZA and some are not. Cost is certainly a factor for some of the smaller facilities like mine but we typically do not spare any expense if it means doing it right; such as accreditation. Anyway, to get to the point, we would LOVE to be AZA accredited but at the time when we were giving it serious consideration, there were some heavy constraints at the time that would prevent us from being able to be considered; one of those was having a full time vet on the premises. If things have changed, I would like to know as I was not aware of any recent changes to the accreditation process. You hit it on the head, there is something to be said for peer reviewed processes and although AZA is far from perfect, it does provide a vehicle to ensure a high degree of quality in terms of how the animals are cared for (or, at least that is what should be happening). This is a great topic for discussion and I look forward to hearing what Tad or Clyde or Jim Harrison have to say.

>>I agree with you Matt. I have seen both public and private collections that were appalling.
>>
>>I could be wrong, but I was recently informed about the vet status for a facilty.
>>-----
>>Tim Cole
>>www.Designeratrox.com/
>>www.AustinReptileService.net
>>www.AustinReptileExpo.com/
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
>>Conservation through Education
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

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